As an outsider living in the Sun City, I’ve greatly appreciated the complete shift from New York to the desert. Going into my last senior semester this fall, I feel that my time here has flown by, and many of the great experiences here have helped this.

Despite the endless construction and crushing heat, El Paso is a wonderful city. The addition of a streetcar system to help circulate people through the city to events will help El Paso in its push to take that next step nationally.

Although El Paso is one of the safest large cities in the country, and boasts a rich sports legacy, the city is often forgotten by much of the country. After all, El Paso has its own niche; a quiet desert city that is isolated from seemingly everything brings a sort of solace to its inhabitants.

The border culture integrates two nations together in a world that seems separate from the international divisions seen on the news amid discussions of a wall. El Paso blocks all of that out, and is a world of delicious food and friendly people.

UTEP is a historically revered sports school, and the programs are nudging closer and closer to the glory days of the past. The basketball team had flashes of greatness, and recently football has churned out NFL players every year.

The school holds a great standard that benefits commuter students, and has many excellent departments within, all with very qualified teachers.

Although the construction around the school, on the highway and elsewhere seems stagnant, its end results will be awesome for the city. The expansion of I-10 around Sunland Park will help traffic flow better as the city continues to build westward in the direction of the outlet malls and the Franklin Mountains. The prospect of an arena downtown would help to bring more attention to the city and exciting artists, while freeing up the UTEP facilities such as the Don Haskins Center.

El Paso also has Khalid, who despite not being from El Paso seems to have adopted the city as a home of sorts.

The Chihuahuas are an exciting Triple-A baseball team to watch and they give people the opportunity to see professional players periodically as well. Why, even the UTEP club hockey team, in its second year, won the league and narrowly lost in the regionals.

Cincinnati Avenue has been resurrected with a host of new and exciting bars and restaurants in addition to the longstanding ones such as The Loft or Geogeske’s G2.

The Lowbrow Palace often has artists on the rise, who put on moving shows, such as Great Shapes.

As a New Yorker, I’ve come to embrace the city and look forward to what the future holds.