why i love being a 'wisconsinite'

     it hate admitting it, but i was not born in the tremendous state of WI. my mother was diligently working on her master's in biochemistry (yeah...she's a COMPLETE brainiac) in VA, so i haaaad to pop out there. shortly after, when i was 2.5, we moved to wisconsin (while my fave, chaim-a-laim, was a tiny baby) and it is where i was truly raised. 

     there are numerous reasons i take major pride in being from wisconsin, living in wisconsin, and publicly celebrating the fact that i am a badger for life. i lay it all out here:

-yeah...it's freezing cold in the winter, super snowy, but BEAUTIFUL in the summer! you can workout, get all hot n' sweaty, and tan outside...it's amazing!

-fellow wisconsinites are the most INCREDIBLE people i have ever met in my life. with a few crotchety exceptions, they are nice, unusually generous, and polite. a stranger will smile at you for no reason, we LET PEOPLE IN when we see they are trying to get over while driving (we understand, sometimes you just NEED to be in the other lane...right then!) in case you've never had the "privilege" (really...affliction) of living in northern VA and trying to accomplish day-to-day life, guess what, this is NOT a nationally accepted motorist practice! i was depressed to find this out...and proud to have my wisconsin license plate and bucky decal so people are WELL aware the reason i am allowing them to merge (when they have their blinker on and i sense the urgency) i am doing it because i am kind, friendly, and from a state where we CARE about other people!

-we're inexhaustibly resilient. no, our entire world does not come to a screeching halt when it snows (*cough* east coast...nyc *cough*). we know how to drive in it...plan ahead, go slow, turn into the skid, give the car in front of you some space, and, for the love, do NOT slam on your brakes. our city snow removal team does a phenomenal job, they clear the roads as quickly and efficiently as possible. our hard-working students don't get 6 weeks off school per inch of snow that falls (maybe that is why we have the 2nd highest ACT scores in the nation?). some schools in virginia were off today and government workers had a 2 hour delay for 1/10th of a foot of snow. the people here go to work, do their thing, take care of their families, AND their to-do lists. we absolutely cannot be kept out of the grocery store, restaurants, or bars, because...hey...we like to eat and drink!

-we're relentlessly passionate. guess what...we LOVE the packers!!! go pack go!! we HATE the bears...there was literally a special on the local news with that exact title today. now, we understand bears fans have moved here from (disgusting) IL, we wholeheartedly welcome you, and we’re happy to have you here! (as long as you openly admit our state is WAY better than yours...i mean...you moved here right?) normally, we are very accepting of you sporting your bears clothing. currently, it is quite abominable. as for the next few days, i believe we should enact some sort of special legal exemption from certain mild misdemeanors committed against bears fans. how much damage can a simple verbal assault or a thrown (empty...of course...) beer can do? they'll be fine and we'll make sure we get them to the hospital if required (oshkosh police...can we get a little help on this one?...no?)

-we pull together. wisconsinites are supportive and we commiserate when necessary. whether the badgers or packers have a rough game, there's an awful blizzard, continually dropping temperatures, or a loss of someone close to us, we provide an infallible support network.

     people from here function with the mentality that "we're all in this together". we honestly believe we are and we’ll help you get through whatever it is.

     i have been exceptionally blessed to travel, and live, throughout the nation and overseas, courtesy of the Air Force. i (hopefully) represented our state well by bringing this attitude to several magnificent places around the world. I truly must say, in the words of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, however cliché they are, “there’s no place like home”. there are sooo many more reasons i love being from/living/promoting all that is wisconsin. for now, i’ll just say THANK YOU! to everyone who is from here, lives here, and/or truly embodies the wisconsinite way of life. it is definitely a unique, rare, wonderful lifestyle and outlook. if you disagree, or are unsure of the accuracy of some of my claims, maybe move here (or come visit us...we're REALLY good hosts) and give it a shot :-).