When you're on vacation and other travelers ask where you're from, you say Detroit. However, if you answer with, "I am from Livonia, Michigan." you typically get asked what is around there. There's miles of vacant stores, but pot holes, and... well, children. Livonia, StillFamilies First. It is a great place to raise kids, however not to keep them there. People literally grow up to bigger and better things, because there is not much here for young adults. Livonia is an awkward suburban 36 square mile area of land only a few miles from Detroit. Here are 11 things you'll relate to if you live in Livonia.

1. The Po-Po are everywhere.

The National Motorists Association found Livonia #2 on the list of Worst Speed Trap Cities in the United States in 2012. It has become such a serious deal that people started making tee shirts and car bumper stickers about it. On my way to work, I counted seven cop cars. Even though I found it ridiculous, Livonia cops made our community one of the top ten Safest Cities in America a few years ago. I always try to avoid the red and blue flashing lights no matter how much I want to speed around cars.

2. You or your friends go to Scraft.

Nobody calls it Schoolcraft, because saying Scraft is easier to say and write. Schoolcraft Community College, a fast growing populous of young adults around the Livonia and Garden City area. Half of your high school class is going here, so you always have a few friends to keep in touch with from Scraft.

3. Shopping is a struggle.

When it comes to shopping, there is not much of a selection. Livonia's Laurel Park Place is the home of over 70 stores and stands, but there are only two stores to shop at for teens. With H&M's opening this past spring, everyone is going nuts. But it wont last long, because most stores stay open for about a year. Unless you still shop at Justice, there are no other young adult clothes stores, so if you want some cute clothes you have to drive to some other place. Goodbye Livonia, Hello Novi. Twelve Oaks shopping mall is our go to place when it comes to shopping.

4. Forget Dairy Queen, you go to Han-D-Dip for your ice cream cravings.

Every city has their own cute little ice cream place for desserts and Han-D-Dip is our version of Dairy Queen. Slurping your drippy chocolate cone with team mates at your side, this Dairy Barn makes your summer night a yummy one.

5. The Rec Center was your hangout spot.

This is where you and your squad are at Friday nights. From the rock wall, to the exercise corner, to the basketball courts, the rec crawls pre-teens. You waited years to be old enough to sit in the hot tub with the adults, and were bound to the freezing cold pool. Growing up, this small water area seemed like Michigan Adventure to you and your friends.

6. Two words: Bates Burgers.

For just $1.19, you can snag a juicy hamburger slider. Pair it with delicious fresh cut fries, and a chocolate shake. Bates Burgers is a great meal choice. Take out or dine in at the counter. The atmosphere is family friendly and affordable. Bates is Livonia's White Castle.

7. The Spree is the best thing about your summer plans.

After school is out, the Livonia Spree is the first event of your summer. A couple weeks after school, the trucks load into Ford Field. The rides creak, shake, and smell of rust. Couples share their funnel cakes and sugary lemonade drinks. The aroma of pizza fills the air from the Livonia Fire Departments Annual pizza tent. For only fifty-cents you can let goats and llamas lick food from your palm. On Sunday, the Livonia Spree's fireworks is where you had a double date with your best friend and won that goldfish that died two days later. Our city carnival is where you created your first summer memories with your friends... and spent thirty dollars on greasy food.

8. You played on LJAL or LCSC.

This is the first club your parents signed you up for. Livonia's LJAL (Livonia Junior Athletic League) offers several sports including LCSC (Livonia Community Soccer Club), baseball, and basketball. In your closet are several LJAL sweatshirts and shirts. Your mom came to all your games, and saw you fall on your face. You caught that fly ball. You learned you weren't good at sports.... but, you tried.

9. You went to the big three high schools.

10. When someone in the community is in the news, we talk about it for a month.

In the early summer month of June, this young eighteen year old woman shot her boyfriend in the head during an altercation. Livonia is known to have little to no crime. The most we get is vandalism, so when someone acts out in violence, it' a really big deal. Ann Zarras, 18 was charged with felony fire arm charges and intent to do bodily harm, less than murder. The second charge in particular is causing a lot of anger in our community and many believe she should get charged with attempted murder. As a recent 2016 high school graduate myself, what I found most tragic was that he had also graduated only a week or two before the incident. Nothing has been finalized, and nothing has been released about the boyfriend. But I can assure you, this will be the talk of the town for awhile.

11. The roads are always a problem.

When 8 Mile and Baseline Road went under construction in early August, our first reaction was, "Well it's about f*cking time." The dreaded Sunday night drive to the nearby Kroger left our local residence in fear of going grocery shopping. This road made your tires scared of driving on it. 7 Mile also has many pot holes, but I doubt they'll get fixed in my lifetime. Even when the roads are being fixed, it takes forever. When you pass the construction cones, there are hardly ever any workers and you only wonder why things in Livonia take so long. The sad part about it is, with Michigan's freezing, melting, refreezing, cold winters, the roads get destroyed in a year after being fixed. Prayers go out to all our Michigan Drivers.