One thing that was almost immediately apparent to me at my freshman orientation at Marquette was that there are a lot of people here from Illinois. As a disclaimer: I have absolutely no problem with this. If I went to The Ohio State University, I would be one of many from Cleveland. I think it's really cool that you all have such a wide network here upon arrival, but for those of us who didn't, it's kind of intimidating. However, there are some things that those of us who aren't from the Chicago area have thought at some point during our college careers, and here they are:

1. You don’t understand why it’s a big deal if you say you’re from Chicago but you live in a suburb.

Maybe it's a pride thing because Chicago is a really cool city, but this topic gets heated when it's brought up. You quickly learn that Naperville is not Chicago.

2. Nobody asks you if you’re from a suburb if you’re from a different city, they just accept it.

When I'm asked where I'm from, I just say Cleveland, Nobody asks me if I'm from actual Cleveland or a suburb of Cleveland. Granted, maybe it's because nobody really cares about Cleveland, but I'd never say "I'm Claire, I'm originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio." Unless they're a huge "How I Met Your Mother" fan, that has literally no relevance to anyone.

3. And people look at you funny if you don’t know where their suburb is.

When you graduate from Marquette, you also minor in Illinois geography because people really like to explain where their suburb is.

4. You didn’t know what Portillo's was before you came to college.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT PORTILLO'S IS?!??!?!?!?!??!?! YOU HAVEN'T LIVED." Is the immediate reaction to this. Followed by people talking about hot dogs and something called a "cake shake." You also quickly figure out that people get homesick for Portillo's and you don't quite understand. However, if you have the chance to go, do it—it is very good.

5. You don't understand the high school rivalries that still exist.

Yes, people still do, in fact, refer to different schools as their "rival high school" when they are in college. And they probably have a real life emotional reaction when they see people with said rival high school's apparel walking around a college campus.

6. You’ve never been to Lollapalooza – or if you have, you don’t see everyone you’ve ever met and their mother.

(It's probably debatable whether that girl is actually from Chicago or a suburb)

But you do hear endless stories about crazy times at Lolla, and you'll get to see a lot of pictures on your timeline now filled with high-waisted shorts and flower crowns.

8. Speaking of music festivals, what’s Country Thunder?

If you're thinking it sounds like a lot of American flags, denim shorts, sunburn, pick-up trucks, stale beer, cowboy boots and red Solo cups, you'd be correct. It's also a lot of kids from Chicago suburbs congregating on campsites and listening to nothing but country music for an entire weekend.

9. You've never been to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago.

The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, everyone from the Chicago area flocks to downtown Chicago where they dye the entire river green, and everyone drunkenly walks around in all green and adorned with shamrocks. Admittedly, it looks like a hoot and a half, but if you're not from the area, you've had no reason to attend.

10. And you don't understand why the parade isn't on St. Patrick's Day.

For those of you who don't know, St. Patrick's Day is actually on March 17. Not the Saturday before when Chicago and many other cities celebrate it.

11. You don't have an embarrassing picture from an eighth grade field trip next to the Bean.

Yep, it seems like everyone has one and they resurface every once and awhile, side bangs, braces, duck faces and all.

(Shout out to Ana Booczko for letting me use this picture)

12. You don't own anything with a Chicago flag on it, or a Chicago flag.

This also applies to kids who live in the city; however, everyone seems to either own an actual flag, or something with this printed on it. I've never actually seen another city have a flag and so many things that have the flag on it. People from the Chicago area have a lot of pride about where they live. I also have no idea what the Illinois state flag looks like, just the Chicago flag.

13. “Yeah, I think me and my friends at home are going to unofficial” ...what?

"Unofficial" is short for Unofficial St. Patrick's Day, which is a weekend where The University of Illinois celebrates this holiday on their campus. It's a lot of green, drunk college kids and underaged drinking tickets, which also admittedly looks like fun.

14. When someone says U of I, you don't think of the University of Illinois.

When I hear U of I, I always think we're talking about Indiana. Others think that you're talking about the University of Iowa, University of Idaho and a medley of other schools. But if you're talking to someone from the Chicago area, it's the University of Illinois.

15. You don't understand the Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox debate.

I was not even aware that this rivalry existed until I was surrounded by people from the Chicago area. Either they don't follow baseball, or they have an extreme opinion about this rivalry. Families are either die hard Cubs or Sox fans, even though both are Chicago teams.

16. You also don't really have an opinion about hockey.

Or maybe you do, but don't tell anyone that might be a Chicago Blackhawks fan, because they are scary passionate, and I'm convinced some of them would die for this team. To be fair, they do have a lot of be proud of.

17. You've never had deep dish pizza

See No. 3 for reaction but insert deep dish instead of Portillo's. There will also be mention of places called Lou Malnati's and Giordano's, which will have no meaning to you, but you will be convinced by someone at some point that one of these places has the best pizza in the entire world.

18. What the heck is a Metra?

The Metra is a train in the Chicago area that kids from the suburbs ride to go downtown because, from what I've heard, driving in downtown Chicago is like a real life version of bumper cars.

19. You often feel like you’re the only person around you not from Illinois.

If you're not from the Chicago area (or Wisconsin really), you get really excited when you meet someone from your home state, even if they're from a city not even remotely close to you. This happens just because you finally feel like you're not the only person who doesn't live an a hour away and also has to just politely nod and pretend like they know what someone's talking about when the rest of the campus is talking about Chicago things.

Again, no hard feelings to you suburban Chicago dwellers. We love you all.