1. My cat lives here. (And my parents. But mostly my cat.)

2. This country’s acronym makes a really catchy chant. Something about screaming three syllables at sports players just gives me a thrill. I suppose yelling CAN-A-DA might have the same effect, but I know even less about hockey than I do about any other sport.

3. I can’t abandon Alexander Hamilton.

4. Our train system might be trash, but our interstates are a work of art. Where else am I going to drive 80 miles an hour and still have people pass me like I’m standing still? (I’m too much of a weenie for the Autobahn.)

5. No other country led to the creation of a film as wild and beautiful as “National Treasure.”

6. Celebrating the Fourth of July gives me an excuse to show my students episodes of “Liberty’s Kids.” It’s like “Hamilton” lite — less singing, more animation. I still can’t decide if I’d rather be James or Sarah, but I know I want to pen articles for Ben Franklin’s newspaper.

7. Where else in the world has days that begin with muggy, sunny 90-degrees-Fahrenheit weather and end with 60 degrees in the pouring rain? The filling of this weather sandwich is, of course, tornadoes. You haven’t lived until you’ve casually driven underneath a mesocyclone on your way home from school.

8. I would miss the cicadas, too.

9. And the corn. Nobody does corn like America.

10. The overly-friendly-American stereotype is true, at least in the Midwest where I live. And I love it! Sometimes, living in a tight-knit community in a fairly rural area can feel stifling. Every trip to Wal-Mart is a high school reunion. But I love driving along the hilly road to my parents’ house and waving at every neighbor I see. They always wave back. Even if I’ve never spoken to them, I feel connected to them.

11. Despite our differences, and despite the clichéd nature of this statement, I really do believe that we as a community come together after tragedies. A local church held a prayer service directly after the Pulse shooting. It was standing room only. Visitors spilled onto the stairs outside.

12. And that, the packed, rainbow-bedecked church, is the real reason I want to stay in the United States. That display of solidarity and queer pride would have been unfathomable to queer Americans half a century ago. Even a quarter of a century ago. The United States has gone through so much progress in recent years.

13. Part of this change is undoubtedly because of the growth of technology and the communication of ideas that naturally follows that growth. But I also believe that this change is rooted in American values. The Founding Fathers’ actions didn’t always mimic the words they wrote. They were slavers and misogynists, just as many Americans today are racist, misogynistic, homophobic or transphobic. But their writings, which emphasize freedom and personal liberty, have led to the USA of 2016.

This is a country where I can marry a man or a woman. Where I, someone who presents as female, can vote. Where people can and do protest when their rights are infringed upon. While our prejudiced factions may never completely go away, I truly believe that the U.S. will keep improving. And I have a responsibility to stay here to make sure that it does.

Besides, I really would miss my cat.