Among the first questions asked when meeting someone is always "where are you from?" but to a girl who grew up near Indiana University it's the worst thing. My small town is too small to just say because no one will know where the heck I'm talking about so "the Bloomington area" is the best option which just leads to "Isn't that where IU is?" or "EW." For someone to go to Purdue having grown up so close to IU can be a never ending ride on the struggle bus for all these reasons and more.
1. You feel very out of place at Purdue.
Almost like you're a piece of a puzzle but not this puzzle.
2. During BGR everyone gave you crappy looks when you said where you were from.
3. You can't wear any of your favorite hoodies.
4. You love your school colors and all but also love theirs.
Although black uniforms can be pretty intimidating cream and crimson candy stripe pants look so dope. They're literally one color away from being patriotic and I for one love 'Merica.
5. You defend their campus attributes and might even favor them.
6. You never had the chance to see Purdue first to appreciate it's unique beauty.
Instead, you just know it's brick and industrial, while IU is cobble stone and castle-like.
7. You had at least 15 credits from IU when you got here.
8. You know Bloomington better than West Lafayette.
Honestly though, I still use GPS in West Lafayette like all the time.
9. All your friends went to IU.
10. And it makes you sick to see all their Instagram posts about it.
11. Your parents still question your decision to go to the wrong Big 10 school.
12. You constantly imagine what life would be like if you had just gone to IU instead.
13. And you may have wanted to transfer or even applied.
14. You're reluctant to go to rivalry sporting events because you wouldn't know who to route for.
15. You sort of despise people in your situation who do go, but don't pick a side.
16. You had that song that guy from IU made on your phone and regularly listened to it.
"Who's your daddy, no really Hoosier daddy?"
17.You honestly don't know what a Hoosier is but somehow identify with it.
18. You have trouble explaining the Boilermaker Special to your IU friends.
19. You know how beautiful Bloomington is in general compared to West Lafayette.
20. You can't stand the real difference in weather.
Wind. There is too much freaking wind here.
At the end of the day, sometimes you might not feel like West Lala is really your home but Purdue has become the best home away from home you could ask for. There are so many like minded individuals who look past your seemingly unfortunate roots in southern Indiana to become wonderful friends. So no it's not IU and no, black and gold are not the most appealing colors but we have a weird train thing that goes to games and do you really need anything else? All in all, Purdue doesn't suck, except for the wind. Seriously, that sucks.
