I’m in my home in Savannah reviewing class schedules, bus routes, dorm assignments, meal plans and other University freshman tasks. The only problem: I am a 21-year-old junior who transferred and have never been a UGA freshman. The stuff I am going over is not mine, but my little brother’s. It’s the Tuesday before school starts. The entire time I’m moving him in, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic about my first freshman semester in Athens.

I attended Gainesville State College Oconee campus, located right outside of Athens. As a freshman, I never got to experience most of what my little brother is getting to experience. Checking into the dorm and learning the bus routes before class started were things I never would have to worry about, things I would learn over time. In a way I have been able to see what I missed.

We left for Athens on Thursday. All of his clothes, books and other essentials were packed into my tiny red Ford Focus. During the five-hour drive, I started to tell my little brother what to expect, but I shortly realized that his experience and my experience were going to be distinctly different. I couldn’t tell him things like where to go for the best dining hall tacos because I never had a meal plan. I was unable to tell him which dorm was the best one because I never lived on campus. I felt as if I had missed out on a real college experience.

When we arrived in Athens we immediately went to Hill Hall in order to check my little brother into his dorm. After we successfully moved him in and met his roommate (who was engaged in a rousing game of dorm hall baseball), I took him on an extensive tour of Athens. I took him downtown and showed him the best burger joints and pizza places. I drove him out to the Botanical Gardens, took him down the best bike paths and showed him my favorite hang-outs.

The experience reminded me of how much I love this city and how it is unlike any other city in the world. Looking around Athens the way I did while showing my brother around reminded me of how it is a sort of paradise for the 18 to 27-year-old crowd. Athens is bursting at the seams with music, culture, amazing food and interesting inhabitants. Spending one’s college years here is an absolutely unforgettable experience.

- Zack Taylor is a variety writer.