Who Cares Where You Went to College?
Your education doesn’t define you
“Where did you go to college?”
“Oh, in Los Angeles.”
“And where did you do grad school?”
“In Philadelphia.”
When I meet someone new, this is how my ideal “where did you go to school” conversation would go. Plain and simple, divulging only city names, so we can bond over the struggles of LA traffic or Philly cheesesteaks (which aren’t even that good tbh), which is arguably the important part when meeting someone new: finding commonalities and similarities to connect.
Where things would get uncomfortable for me is when people would further probe.
“Where exactly?”
“UCLA.”
“Oh wow, and what about grad school?”
“Penn.”
“You mean UPenn?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, an Ivy League! You must be so smart!” *insert excitement and big starry eyes*
Every time they found out where I went to school, I would feel the tone of the conversation shift. I felt the people form their preconceived notions of me and they’d see me differently. It’s an amalgam of amazement, admiration, curiosity, and sometimes, they’d feel intimidated.
