Texas

I could go on and on for days about why I love Texas. No one truly understands why I love Texas so much, and I can’t even grasp the idea of why I am so drawn to the state. Though when I sit back and deeply think of everything in Texas that brings joy to me, I then start to understand why I love Texas. Sitting here looking through pictures that I have taken on my multiple trips to Texas, I can’t help but smile and get a butterfly feeling in my stomach. Though also it makes me want to cry because I miss it so much. The people, the food, and mostly the ambiance of Texas is what makes Texas the wonderful state it is today.

Whenever I go back to Texas the people make me feel so welcomed as if I was an old friend of theirs. The many Texans I have encountered on my journeys to Texas have all been welcoming and very upbeat. While in Texas for my seventeenth birthday, I went to a tailgate before the Texas Tech football game with my uncle that was hosted by two of his friends. When we walked up to the tailgate his friends bolted towards us attacking us and giving us hugs. Even though this was my first time meeting them, they did not shy away from hugging me till I felt like I couldn’t breath. Throughout the time we were at the tailgate I was introduced to what felt like everyone who lived in Texas. I quickly learned that this was one of the popular tailgating parties at the school on game day. I could see why after meeting so many people. Even though this was the first time meeting these people they made me feel like they already knew me. It wasn’t one of those awkward conversations where after you finish what you have to say you walk away. The one thing I have taken away and made note of about Texans is that they are never going to pass up on a good time!

Texas is home to some of the most amazing food ever! Texas barbecue is the best no question about it. The beef brisket is some of the best food you will ever eat in a lifetime, especially if it is from Texas. North Carolinians argue that they have the best barbecue, but that is very untrue. Beef has much more flavor to it than pork. Also, I mostly love that Texas barbecue sauce is not a vinegar base like North Carolina’s. Texas barbecue sauce is much more sweeter and it doesn’t make you cringe when you put it on your barbecue like North Carolina’s sauce.

To add onto why I love food in Texas, the Tex-Mex in Texas is superb! Tex-Mex I am sure of is God’s gift to this world! Tex-Mex is ten times better than regular Mexican food. It is cooked with more seasons than regular food giving it more flavor. My favorite Tex-Mex dish is Texas fajitas. It is not like the fajitas you get here in North Carolina. It is packed with lots of meat with long strips of beef and chicken. If you go to Dos Amigos in Boone, North Carolina and order beef fajitas you get tiny pieces of beef. Though if you go to a Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas and get beef fajitas, you get huge pieces of beef. The number one reason why I hate leaving Texas, is coming back to North Carolina food which doesn’t have anything on food in Texas. Well maybe not the number one reason, but it’s up there!

The atmosphere of Texas is probably the most lively atmosphere I have seen in my travels so far. No one could fully describe Texas perfectly because it would take years to give someone a clear picture of Texas. The cities are fast pace and everyone is constantly on the go. Most people are always running around. You rarely get a break especially if you are young. There is normally always something happening in Texas. Come football season, most people are going to tailgate parties, football games, or both. That is when Texas is truly alive, is when it is football season. Football could be considered a religion in Texas. Texans live for the thought of football season coming up! The people of Texas is what makes Texas the state it is. A wonderful, exciting, and truly beautiful state. Talking about Texas brings so much joy to me. Though going back to Texas seeing friends and family is even better. I plan to stay in North Carolina for college then move out to Texas after I graduate. I am looking forward to the day that I can say, “I live in Texas!” “I’ve traveled all over the world, but I don’t think there is any place better than Texas” (Red Adair).