Kansas isn’t exactly the most exciting state in the country. We have the flattest landscape, the most unpredictable weather and probably some of the most white-trash people you could ever meet. But after growing up here, I’ve decided it isn’t so bad after all.
I’ve played basketball since I was a tiny tot, and just like many other athletes that go to school at Baker, I just wanted to continue playing as long as possible. I’d always expected myself to move far away from home and play at a school overlooking the beach, but here I am an hour away from home, loving my school and my sport.
Baker has drawn in many athletes from all over the country – athletes who probably never thought they’d end up in Kansas, the land of Dorothy and Toto. There are student-athletes who have left their oceans and mountains to come to Baldwin City where the closest thing we have to water is a dried-up lake.
The funny part is, no one forced those athletes to be here. I have pride in where I live, as do many Kansans. The one thing I’m tired of is hearing people complain about the one place I’ve known my entire life.
You came here by choice, and I know for a fact few are here on full-ride scholarships, so it wasn’t the abundance of money being thrown at your feet.
I hope you’re here for a passion you have for the sport you play and for the education you want to receive.
While Kansas is where my home, family and friends are, maybe your home is Florida, New York or California. But while you’re here, please respect those of us whose roots are still in Kansas soil, and watch what is said around us.
You only go to college once, and this is where you chose to go. We might talk with an accent, milk cows or even like NASCAR, but heck, Kansans ain’t that bad, is we?