Believe it or not, some students that go to TCU or any Texas school for that matter are not from Texas! Shocker, I know. I am one of them. My name is Kelsey, and I am originally from Las Vegas, NV (yes, people actually live there). My first time visiting Texas ever was in October of 2008 for my campus visit to TCU, and honestly I fell in love. Not just with the campus because who wouldn’t, but with Fort Worth itself. Even though this town may seem quaint and simple, it really isn’t. There is so much to do, and over the past few years I have made this city my home. And I want to share with you some of my favorite places, as a “non-Texan.”

One thing that I did not realize when I moved here was that the Fort Worth area is quite the cultural hotspot. Honestly, I was surprised that most people drove cars and did not go on horseback everywhere. From operas to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Fort Worth always has something exciting going on to get you out of the house. This past week my all-time favorite musical, Rent, came to Casa Mañana, a local play house close to TCU On University near 7th Street. I almost crashed my car when I saw the bus stop bench on University advertising the performance. It was one of those awesome moments when you get so excited about something that everything you try to say comes out in a jumbled mess because for some reason your brain and mouth decided that they don’t want to work together anymore.

All in all the performance was amazing. Back home I would go see shows done by local theatres all the time, so it was nice to get back into that culture. You would be amazed at the amount of talent Fort Worth has to offer. Rent is a musical that calls for powerful voices from both men and women. The characters are diverse and very controversial. The actors who performed in this production done by Casa Mañana did not hold back. They became these characters, and really brought the show to life. I can honestly say that I will definitely recommend a production of Casa Mañana’s to anyone in the future.

--Kelsey Thomas