1. Michigan, specifically Grand Rapids, isn’t as boring as I thought.

Not trying to hate on Illinois, but there’s nothing to do here. Ask anyone from Illinois and they’ll tell you the same thing. Unless you want to make the trip to the city of Chicago every weekend, which let’s face it is so unrealistic, you won’t have many options for fun activities. As a college student I spend my weekends in my dorm doing homework. Grand Rapids on the other hand has so much to do at your fingertips. You like music? Check out a concert at a variety of downtown venues. You like art? Go to the worlds most attended art festival called art prize. You like food? (I’m pretty sure everyone would say yes to that) Go to the downtown market and try a few of the food vendors there. These are the things I took for granted while living in Grand Rapids.

2. I say dates weird.

If you ask me what the day is, I’ll say “It’s October 3” or “It’s December 1”. I didn’t realize that what I had been saying my whole life was wrong until someone pointed out to me my fatal flaw. It should be “It’s October 3^rd” or “It’s December 1st”. People from Grand Rapids, MI apparently don’t use ordinal indicators (the rd in 3^rd or the st in 1^st). Who knew? This may seem totally insignificant, but trust me, my lack of ability to say dates correctly has been a hot topic of debate here in Illinois.

3. When you’re out of state, you are immediately best friends with anyone you find from your home state.

With all these weird “Michigan Things” I’ve discovered since coming to Illinois, it has been important for me to reminisce with fellow Michiganders. These kind of friendships consist of saying “You know what I miss?” or “wait do you know so and so?” or even unintentionally matching because apparently people from the mitten state have Michigan telepathy.

4. Driving is hard when the streets are totally foreign to you.

Since coming to college, I’ve gotten lost more in the last few months than I have in a whole year in Michigan. These streets are so unfamiliar to me, so much so that google maps has become my new best friend. Also, I’ve never appreciated Michigan U-turns until now. How in the world does Illinois expect me to turn around without them?

5. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

In all honesty, I was that girl that dreamed of the day she left her hometown. I was excited to move away and experience something new. However, now that I’m gone, I can’t help but want to go back. I used to say, and I quote, “I don’t ever see myself going back to Michigan.” But things change and who knows, maybe the mitten hasn’t seen the last of me yet.