There’s No Place Like Nashville
I’m not a Southerner. And yet, in spite of that, or maybe because of that, I am 150% in love with Nashville, Tennessee. Why, you ask? Here are some recent “oh-so-Nashville” experiences I have had to seal the deal on my obsession with Nashville.
- I got to be an extra for the show, Nashville, for free this past week. I can’t really tell you anything about it (literally I signed a legally bonding document promising not to…), except that it was a phenomenal experience. It was so cool to see how one of my favorite shows comes to life, see one of my all-time favorite moms aka Connie Britton (watch Friday Night Lights or Nashville or BOTH to see what I mean), and be a part of the show. Also, my friend and I who went got to meet some people who are really from Nashville, which was pretty great. (If y’all are lucky, I’ll post pictures from this in May when I’m legally permitted to.) Take away? Nashville is a fantastic show, city and also home to some of the kindest, most genuine and hospitable people.
The lovely Nashville skyline. - The next night, I got to hang out downtown with one of my best friends from my camp, who was in town for a nursing student convention. (Yes, there are fun things and educational things going on in Nashville all the time.) We mostly did some of the touristy things (Wild Horse, the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge over the Cumberland River, cowboy boot stores and barbeque), but it was so exciting to feel so proud of “my city” and to be relatively knowledgeable and familiar with Nashville. Also, it’s awesome to be in a city that draws people to come visit you. Take away? I am so grateful to get to live in such a fabulous city with so much to do!
View of the sunset from the walking bridge. - Rites of Spring. Ok this is more Vanderbilt-oriented and probably deserves its own post, but the fact that so many up-and-coming artists are around Nashville and/or willing to come to Nashville to perform on campus is so incredible. Put on by Vanderbilt STUDENTS on the Vanderbilt Programming Board, this is a 2-day, fabulous annual music festival held on Alumni Lawn. Delta Rae, twentyone pilots, and so many other awesome groups performed in addition to the headliners, 2chainz and Steve Aoki. Basically, the take away here is that both Vanderbilt and Nashville as a whole are ideal places to live, learn and experience.
A photo from the first night of Rites just before Delta Rae's set.
If the preceding experiences weren’t enough to draw you in, remember that this was in the span of FOUR DAYS, four beautiful, springy, glorious days. There are more things to do here than you could ever actually do, but this means that there is definitely something for everyone. Come visit Nashville, come visit Vanderbilt, or, better yet, come love, learn from, and live at Vanderbilt. You will not be sorry. Just in case you haven’t yet captured the ultimate take away here, NASHVILLE IS AN EXCITING, PHENOMENAL PLACE TO LIVE, AND VANDERBILT IS THE BEST HOME, SCHOOL AND FAMILY I COULD ASK FOR.
Sorry for the aggressive caps lock… But it’s affective and I really mean it.
