Boston Not Common started when I moved from Louisiana to Boston on Memorial Day 2010. I never felt super in place in LA (I was a “radical liberal,” feminist, egalitarian) but once I moved here I realized how Southern I really am. This blog combines a means of keeping in touch with family and friends and to highlight Northern and Southern idiosyncrasies.
“I wanted him to tell me not what he did or did not do, but what he loved and what he hated. And what he felt about the things in his life which eventually led him to where he was sitting now.” — Gitta Sereny
Quick Primer: I’m a graduate student in American Religious History at Harvard and I have delusions of grandeur. If you asked me to describe myself in three words I would say tenacious, passionate and (something I only recently admit) Southern. I am barely over five feet tall but you probably will not notice because I have a big personality. I prefer quality over quantity in nearly every aspect of life.
Loves and hates? Samuel Clemens said that good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience compose the ideal life and I tend to agree, though I’d have to add in a few things: my bulldog Yoda, quality stationery, Hendrick’s gin and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and dance classes. I am in love with possibility. I hate people who refuse to take responsibility for their actions…and styrofoam packing peanuts. Seriously. I loathe styrofoam packing peanuts.
My cradle-to-grave best friend says if my life were a show it would be brought to you by the letters “OMFG” and the number “7.”
My two life goals are to have a doctoral hood from Harvard University and own a Birkin bag. (why does everyone think that is a joke?? I’m dead-serious…)
Xoxo
RMS
In case you haven't noticed I am high-maintenance...and apparently obsessed with myself. 
Welcome to Boston Not Common!
Last modified on 2010-07-12 17:59:00 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Like most stories, this one begins with an ending. My entire life centered around Shreveport, Louisiana. Cajun Country. The Buckle of the Bible Belt. Sportsman’s Paradise. Home of the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints. Only a few small problems: I am not religious, I love air-conditioning, I am a vegetarian, and I tend to base my sports team affiliations on the stylishness of the mascot and team uniforms. As a result I never truly felt the South was my home. So my childhood dream was not to be an astronaut or a movie star but to get out of the Deep South and into the Ivy Leagues. Twenty-two years in I packed up my belongings and my English Bulldog Yoda, bound for Boston, MA. I thought I would shed my southern past and start anew.
And yet, every day I would find myself saying “Now you know in Louisiana we…” and “Oh well back in Louisiana we don’t do…” I missed Tony Chachere’s, fried everything, the kindness of strangers, and (gasp!) began to appreciate the few fleur-de-lis items I owned. I suppose at my core I AM a Southerner.
But not exactly. From the first time I entered Boston it felt like home more than anyplace in the South ever had. I love the sailboats along the Charles River, walking everywhere (and at a pace faster than two mph), and that when I call myself vegetarian people do not respond with, “Wait but you eat seafood, right? And chicken?” So while my beloved Boston is now home, I find myself bringing a slight Southern twist to everything I do.
Twenty-two year old graduate student with an opinion on everything and occasional delusions of grandeur? Laissez les bon temps rouler! (Err…Let the good times roll!)
“And that’s okay! All stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end. And when they do, it is only an opportunity for a new story to begin.”
- Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
PS Want to know just how different Shreveport is from Boston? Check it out:
Downtown Shreveport:
Saints Fans:
Red Sox Fans:
Main Hobby in Shreveport*:
Main Hobby in Boston*:
* To be fair, Shreveporters do more than visit Bass Pro Shop. They also fish, hunt, ski on the many lakes, and camp. But my point is Shreveport activities are mostly outdoor, active endeavors in 100+ degree heat and humidity. The opposite of what I like to do. To be even fairer I don’t know how to sail, but I like to imagine myself one day partying on a yacht/sailboat that someone else sails. Plus, sailboats are prettier than pirouges.
