What it’s really like growing up in Las Vegas

No I did not live in a hotel, yes we have schools there and no my mom is not a bartender. Those are answers to the questions that students have been asking me these last three weeks and they never fail to make me laugh. Although being from the Vegas Valley is exciting and new, I have come to discover that Happy Valley is truly the happiest valley of them all.

Sin City vs. Happy Valley

College is a big adjustment for any student. Coming from a small town or a large city, you will still have to get used to living on your own, making adult decisions and meeting new people. For me, coming from Las Vegas it was a HUGE adjustment. Growing up in Vegas taught me so much, things like how to drive in the city, that gambling is not as glamorous as it seems and how to survive 115 degree weather. While adjusting to this culture shock, aka college, I have observed a few differences. Each one solidifying my pride to be a Nittany Lion and increasing my excitement to take part in more Penn State traditions.

Frat Land vs. Las Vegas Blvd

Before coming to college, frat row was only a mythological place seen in movies, now it’s the reality of our Friday nights. Walking into a frat and seeing sticky floors, smelly bathrooms and beer cans piled up in every corner is so different from the typical party back home. Back home it was pre-gaming in the parking lot of Mandalay Bay only to walk the strip and make fun of the half-naked girls we see on the billboards. Here in State College the place to go after chugging beers at a frat is Canyon pizza – $1 pizza is the perfect way to satisfy two in the morning, alcohol induced hunger. Ask anyone in Vegas and they would say Fausto’s Mex-Grill is the equivalent, be there at 2am and expect to see the whole class of 2016 plus some.

24/7 Service

Starbucks isn’t open 24 hours? No way. Are you joking? This was my first reaction after coming to State College. Over in Sin City if you want Starbucks at 3am, it’s all yours. If you want to go grocery shopping at midnight, be my guest. Sleep is not a thing in Vegas, but here at PSU most things close at 8pm or in some cases as early as 3pm, for example Chick-fila in the Hub. The earliest any doors will lock in the Vegas valley is 9 or 10pm. LV is a 24-hour city, so coming to a place that isn’t takes a lot of getting used to.

Las Vegas has nothing like Sheetz

Trying to place my order using the touch screen computer at Sheetz was an adventure in itself. LV doesn’t have anything like Sheetz, it’s totally foreign. But it is fair to say that Sheetz is good food and perfect for the college atmosphere.

Penn State

Penn State students radiate an overwhelming feeling of school pride. Walking from West to Willard or East to Sackett you will see multiple students wearing Penn State gear. The students in Vegas aren’t like that, the pride isn’t there. As great of a city as it is, you will never see a local walking around in a Las Vegas shirt. But here in Happy Valley we bleed blue and white, and we make it very clear that we are Lions.