I'd like to tell you that growing up in Maine is similar to growing up in any other state, but that would be lying, and I don't like lying. Every state has different histories, different cultures, different popular towns/cities, different people with different lives. Growing up in Maine has taught me a lot of things, such as...

1. Patience

If you're from the Eastern part of the state like me, then you'd know what the drives are like to get anywhere other than a gas station. They're traumatic. I've learned throughout the years to be patient with the snow. It snows six of 12 months of the year here and we're patient with it because, well, we don't really have any other choice. Another thing is mowing your lawn. If you're from Maine, then you probably have a decent sized yard, and it takes patience to get it mowed.

2. How important it is to plan for weather

Come on now... it's no lie that Maine has extremely bipolar weather. It can be sunny one moment and then a thick fog the very next. Winters are even worse. You have to be ready for anything.

3. Boots aren't just for winter use

Although we have four seasons, if I know anything about Maine then it's that you'll need boots year-round. Don't store them up just yet...or ever. Obviously you'll need them to get through the three feet of Maine's snow, but you'll need them in the spring for the multiple inches of mud. You'll need them for the summer rain, you'll need them if you have an outside job (lobster fishing, clamming, etc).

4. You do 95% of your shopping online.

Let's face it, we all have to travel to get to anywhere near a shopping mall. Sometimes you just don't want to take that two-hour drive. Often, we don't even have the store that we want to shop from in our state. The struggle is certainly real.

5. Your childhood friends are your lifelong friends.

We're Mainers. We don't "get out" much. If we do, it's for short amounts of time. We grow very close with those surrounding us. When we grow up, we don't go too far from the town we grew up in, if at all. Our childhood friends are who we spend our lives with.

6. How important fluff, Humpty-Dumpty chips, red hotdogs, , Moxie and if you're of age, Allen's coffee brandy are.

These are just a couple of examples of what us Mainers and New Englanders gorge on, and others don't. These are things that we're so familiar with we wouldn't realize the damage done if they were all discontinued.

7. You have to learn to enjoy seafood and blueberries.

We are surrounded by seafood and blueberries. It's everywhere. When you go out to dinner, it's the only thing on the menu other than a garden salad. You learn to love it.

8. How many times we have to repeat what we're saying because the letter "R' is overrated.

Everyone knows that we just don't talk right. We have a thick accent and anyone who isn't from New England cannot understand a word that we're saying. It's "lobstah," not "lobster." And when something is good, it's "wicked good deah."

9. We love L.L. Bean, just as much as you do.

Even though L.L. Bean is a Maine thing, we get just as excited as tourists when we get that package in the mail! We may have a lot more in our closets than you, but only because we can drive and pick up flannels, hats, slippers in store. Our closets are pretty much all L.L. Bean!

10. There's no need to lock your doors.

Leaving the house every day and going to bed at night, the thing you're least concerned about is if your doors are locked. In the city and in higher populated areas, that's one of the first things you make sure of. Heck, in the city, you even have them locked when you're inside the home. In Maine, we aren't all that worried, because the only bad thing that would happen is that damn raccoon getting in the trash again.

11. Your idea of a traffic jam is being held up behind a tractor or in construction.

There's no need to explain this one!

12. Going to the city means going to Bangor.

Bangor isn't the biggest city that Maine has, but Bangor does have everything! Bangor is somewhat in the middle of the state, so no matter which way you're coming from, you're probably still closer to Bangor than Portland. So...Bangor it is.

13. You aren't really from Maine if you've never gone out hauling at least five times.

14. You also aren't from Maine if you don't know what haul means.

We use this term for everything! Not only fishing!

15. You're probably related to the person you're crushing on.

I don't mean to sound gross and inappropriate, but generally you don't find out if you're related until you're already in a relationship or even married! It's usually distant but still...we're all related here. The whole gang is here.

16. One of your family members hold a secret recipe to the BEST WHOOPIE PIES IN THE WORLD.

17. You live approximately a half hour to Canada.

Or as we say it, a half hour over the boardah.

18. When you leave your keys and wallet in the car at night, everything is right where you left it the next morning.

It's probably not gonna go anywhere and if it does, it was probably just a bear.

19. You don't always use a blinker because everyone is typically just taking a ride to town too.

If you notice that your neighbor's car isn't home, it's most likely that they're already where you are about to go...the grocery store.

20. Our appreciation for sunrises, sunsets and of course, small towns are just as big as our hearts.