I’m Jen Skinner. I’m a sophomore journalism student at West Virginia University, and I’m from Ellicott City, Maryland. Almost all of my friends from high school ended up at the University of Maryland for college, and they’re all having great experiences there. I’m happy for them, but I also know that I am exactly where I belong here in West Virginia, despite their confusion as to why I wanted to forego the opportunity to go to a great university in state. As the Mountaineers take on the Terps this weekend at Milan Puskar Stadium, I thought that I’d remind my Maryland folks that they aren’t just challenging our football team—they have to go up against our school spirit and pride. So, as we get pumped for the huge football game, here are seven reasons why I chose to go to WVU over UMD.

Going out of state for college. There’s something special about going away for college, especially if you leave the comfort of your home area and throw yourself into a place where you know no one and nothing about the state. I certainly never thought much about West Virginia before considering going to school here, but that’s part of why I was attracted to it so much.

West Virginia has exposed me to a whole new idea of diversity since I’ve seen coal miners coming to church services with soot on their faces,schools offer classes much different than mine like West Virginia History, and students who turn down acceptance offers from Ivy League colleges to continue their family’s Mountaineer legacy. I’ve learned what it truly means to take pride in where you’re from because even though I didn’t grow up in West Virginia, I take more ownership in this state and have felt more personally about the state that outsiders only stereotype since they don’t know any better. I’ve met students at UMD who don’t even know West Virginia is its own state (“Oh yeah, West Virginia, I’ve been to Richmond before!” or “How close is that to UVA?”). In essence, going to school in another state has evoked a passionate drive to defy stereotypes and change perspectives on a place that has become a new home to me.

The crazy fun football traditions. Even after attending a football game at Byrd Stadium in College Park, I can’t recall a Terp football tradition that speaks the same volume of spirit as singing “Country Roads” with your arms over the shoulders of your friends and strangers after a Mountaineer win.

I can’t watch a WVU football pregame show without getting chills and feeling my eyes water up a little. When the Pride of West Virginia sprints onto the field, performs the unconventional football hype song, “Simple Gifts,” and forms the state of West Virginia on the field with “Hail, West Virginia,” I feel an incomparable sense of belonging. When we sing the Alma Mater and scream “HAIL!” in the middle of it, when we shake our keys before kick-off, when the announcer states, “First down, West Virginia!” and we throw our hands up and down while we shout, “W-V-U (clap) FIRST DOWN!” and then when our Mountaineer mascot and cheerleaders cue the student section to start the “LET’S GO” cheer and turns to cue the other side of the stadium to reply with “MOUNTAINEERS!” And then the Mountaineer fires his rifle after every WVU score, female students get thrown in the air one time for every point we have on the scoreboard after we score, and, of course, you can’t sit in the student section without hearing disses to Pitt, no matter who we’re playing.

Yeah, that’s what we do during football games. Can’t really compare.

The Mountaineer mascot > Testudo. Who would want to be a turtle when you can fire a rifle and wear another small animal on your head? But seriously, the Mountaineer mascot is one of the only ones in the country that doesn’t wear a huge costume that hides the face behind it, which means students feel a personal connection to the man wearing the buckskins who tries to learn as many students’ names as he can remember and visits freshmen in their residence halls to welcome them to college. The Mountaineer mascot embodies the fearless, adventurous, bold spirit of West Virginians. Oh, and he’s the only mascot in the country who wields a real weapon. The Terp isn’t any of those things.

The natural beauty of West Virginia. Though it’s hard leaving home and my family after holiday breaks, the three hour drive going back to school is one of my favorite drives ever—as you go farther west, you climb in elevation, the trees get lusher, and the sunset lets you know that you’re about to cross into the most beautiful state. Students spend weekends hiking at Coopers Rock, kayaking on Cheat Lake, climbing rocks, backpacking, skiing and exploring the outdoor adventure mecca that is West Virginia. You simply cannot find these panoramic views of the Appalachian Mountains near College Park, Maryland.

The time and resources WVU invests in you. As a prospective student, the Reed College of Media offered me everything an incoming freshman could want: direct admission to the journalism program, personalized academic advising, small class sizes, professors who actually wanted to get to know me, networking with media professionals, job and internship opportunities, our own departmental building renovated to include new technology, a major-specific Adventure WV orientation trip, getting to know the dean on a first-name basis and, of course, our own College of Media therapy dog, Omega. What more could I ask for?

West Virginians. I have never met a demographic of people as genuinely loving and welcoming as the citizens of the Mountain State. When I first toured WVU with my family, we got stuck on Evansdale after the PRT broke down on us and we frantically tried to find a way to get back downtown for another prospective student session in Martin Hall. We were so lucky to run into a journalism graduate student who was driving around and noticed how stressed we looked. She drove all four of us back downtown and offered me advice on working for The DA and finding your passion at WVU. Her commitment to serving us, four total strangers, demonstrated very early to me that being a Mountaineer means more than just attending WVU—it means being a West Virginian and serving others with everything you have.

Finally and most importantly, my parents love it. They would have been just as happy for me no matter where I decided to go to college, but when I saw the smiles on their faces after our first visit in Morgantown, I knew this was the place for me. They’ve been up here for football games in the fall and for my club rugby games in the spring. They were here when we triumphantly beat No. 4 Baylor University last October. They’ve met my journalism professors, my bosses, and my deans. But most of all, they’ve fully embraced the Mountaineer pride that I hold dear to my heart, and all I need is their support to know that West Virginia is the place where I belong.

So whatever happens this weekend, whether we end up singing Country Roads congratulating the visiting Terps, I can still know with 100 percent confidence that I made the best choice I could have made by coming to WVU. Being a Marylander is nice, but being a Mountaineer is absolutely unrivaled.