Personal Statement Anonymous

I was recently on a cramped yet frigidly air-conditioned 12-hour bus ride to Chicago, when I noticed a group of cows grazing under a tree. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?” I said to the woman next to me. “I’ve lived in Tennessee for over a year, and I’m still amazed when I see a cow on the side of the road. You’d think I would be used to it by now.”

I was a born and raised a self-proclaimed California girl, blonde hair and flip-flop tan included. This changed when I transferred from University of California, Santa Barbara, to Vanderbilt University in Nashville after my sophomore year of college. I was certain I would never move even five minutes east of the Pacific coast, yet there I was jetting from the sprawling metropolitan world of Southern California to a place famous for its spicy chicken and cowboy boots. From hearing my very first “y’all” to seeing my neighbor shoot a turkey in his backyard for Thanksgiving dinner, Nashville culture shocked me -- at first. It didn't take me long to appreciate the benefits of life in Tennessee, such as the central travel location and the beautifully defined seasons, or for those benefits to enrich my personality, as a student and as a future lawyer.

This transition helped me reach a level of...