My knowledge of Michigan was limited to a campus tour, Eminem and some Midwest emo. I felt very out of place when I arrived for fall semester. Everyone seemingly spoke a different language as they told me what “township” they were from, a word I only knew from a farm app; repeatedly corrected me for daring to say “soda” and not "pop"; balked when I pronounced “Mackinac” the way that it’s spelled (my bad); had their Midwest accent warp words like “milk” into “melk;” all as they failed five times to teach me euchre. 

The easiest way to get Michigan-adjusted was asking everyone I met to “point to me on the mitten” where they lived. Since the state looks like a mitten, any part of the Lower Peninsula can be identified on the palm of the right hand/backside of the left hand. From left to right, Grand Rapids can be found below your pinky about an inch up from your wrist, East Lansing in the center of your palm about half an inch up from your wrist, Metro-Detroit — over half of the people you’ll meet will be from here — can be found in the large area where your thumb meets your palm. 

If they’re from the Upper Peninsula, you’re on your own. (Sorry.) Unless they decide to bring both hands into this diagram, the trick won’t work on the “UP."

After two years, I've started understanding the language of Michiganders. I now recognize Somerset as a mall, Holland as a city (not the Netherlands) and “Western,” “Tech,” “Marquette,” “Wayne,” “Central” and “Oakland” as colleges where people’s high school friends went. 

Being an out of state student can be a secret superpower. It’s a good conversation starter. Everyone will want to know why on earth you chose to come to Michigan — have a good answer ready and laugh when they say you’ll hate the winter. Despite the bitter cold, the people can be very warm and welcoming. I’ve had people bend over backwards to show me “good (Detroit Style) pizza” and Culver's, and invite me home or to a Great Lake. There are also plenty of out of staters to befriend during those smaller holidays where you might not go home.

My in-state friends always complained that someone "went to my high school” before going: “You’re so lucky you don’t have to deal with that.” 

But not having high school enemies to fear also means not having high school friends to fall back on like everyone else you know. 

While this can be a bit isolating, it can also be freeing. There’s perfect room to reinvent yourself and start on a clean state with everyone. Once you find your groove, it’s truly not that scary.