What happens every time I tell non-Gauchos I go to UCSB

“You girls go to UCSB?” A quick response from a man listening in on a conversation I was having with a friend. “Yes”, we replied with a smile. His response, one of “Oh, I bet you have a lot of fun there!”, almost sounding too excited to speak, is a common one.

We draw attention to ourselves, not only because we are a school that knows how to have fun but a school that has charisma. A school that is home to some of the most intelligent,open-minded and creative people I have ever had the privilege of meeting, but this identity does not come easy. Being a Gaucho is exciting but also extremely intimidating.

Having to manage the nice weather, living on the beach and living close to all your friends while having to study at one of the best institutions in the state, is not easy. So when I hear a response from a non gaucho say, “I couldn’t handle living there, it’s too crazy for me,” It’s like yeah then you probably couldn’t, and that sucks. It sucks because although trying to study on Friday mornings while your house is a complete mess is a nightmare, you get to go to the beach afterwards.

You get to ride your bike down the golden coast and feel that salt water on your skin. You get to see students with their friends listening to music and loving life, house after house. Yeah you’re right, it’s too crazy here. People seem to typically judge UCSB from our party school reputation but clearly they have no idea what happens on campus or in IV during that day, which is a huge reason why UCSB is so magical.

Other common responses, normally from parents include, “wow, lucky that you live at the beach,” or “the weather must be so nice there” or my favorite “does it get kind of crazy?” Whether I’m talking with a stranger on a plane or meeting new friends in a park, people are aware on how epic and powerful our school can be.

But there was a time I wish we didn’t stand out. A time that was hard and is still hard for every Gaucho to talk about and that was when the school shooting happened. I recently met with someone for an interview who had lived in IV for the summer years ago.

With difficulty she tried naming off streets and restaurants and we laughed when she told me about her not being able to walk down DP in heels. She then brought up the shooting, which is never an easy topic to talk about as a Gaucho. Although that question or topic has decreased since it happened whenever anyone mentions it, it sends chills down my spine.

It is something Gauchos will have to deal with forever and talking about it is hard but it makes us grow.

Even though there is a chance someone is going to comment about UCSB being a party school, mention the shooting, or express how lucky we are for living at the beach, they have no idea what it is like to be a Gaucho.

Only Gauchos know what it is like to depend on their bike for transportation, to try and avoid that skunk on Trigo, float on a raft with a 30 rack of keystone and fall in love a little too many times. We are home of the Jesus burger, The Olés, Deltopia, and the one and only Freebirds.

Because you see we are the ones that have been through it. We are the ones that are capable of multitasking, throwing ourselves in social situations, and rising above any hard task thrown at us. As Gauchos we have been through a lot and we are more capable than you think.

The skills we’ve learned and the experiences we have are what make us Gauchos and we are a force be reckoned with.