1. Getting asked if you're from Chicago ALL OF THE TIME.
Yes I'm from Illinois, but no I do not live in nor anywhere near Chicago. I understand that most people from other states who ask this question only really know of Chicago and that is okay! Where I'm from it takes about 3 to 3.5 hours to get to Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Des Moines. I lived right in the middle of the state which had its perks but it was also kind of annoying whenever we traveled to one of these cities because it seemed like it took forever to get there.
2. There are Corn and Bean Fields Everywhere.
It doesn't matter where you travel to, there will always be a corn or bean field on either or both sides of the road. You literally can not get away from them. They have their perks though. Multiple corn mazes during the fall and around Halloween. Detasseling jobs during the summer. Checking to see if the corn is actually as tall as it should be by the 4th of July. Plus you get to see a lot of animals (deer, mice). You can drive two hours and still see nothing but corn and bean fields.
*Detasseling corn is removing the pollen-producing flowers, the tassel, from the tops of corn (maize) plants and placing them on the ground.
3. Having to choose whether or not you're going to cheer for the Chicago Cubs, or the St. Louis Cardinals during Baseball Season.
Let me tell you, it can be a difficult decision. Sometimes you feel like the decision is already made for you based on where you live in the state. If you live more north, you're probably going to root for the cubs. If you live more south, you're probably going to root for the Cardinals. You may also cheer for whatever team your family likes or you may not care about baseball at all.
4. Sweet Tea vs UnSweet Tea.
Growing up in the north, unsweet tea is the "nectar of the Gods" according to my wonderful mother. It is pretty normal when ordering iced tea at a restaurant to get unsweet tea instead of automatically getting sweet tea like you would here in the south. There are some people who don't really have a preference or people who drink both. I honestly am not a fan of either of the two. I prefer drinking hot tea, but again that is my personal preference. It can be quite comical to watch my mom who absolutely HATES sweet tea, accidentally drink it when she orders tea but forgets to specify if she wants sweet or unsweet. She now orders it as "yankee brew" thanks to my step dad who LOVES sweet tea.
5. Going to School in the Middle of a Blizzard.
No, I'm not kidding. I remember during my freshman year of high school, it has started snowing pretty heavily standing at the bus stop while it was snowing and being soaking wet by the time the bus actually got to the school. Basically if the administration could get to the school, then so could the students and the buses. I mean yeah, there were times when we would have a couple of snow days but it wasn't anything like living here in North Carolina. If there is even a slight possibility of snow, everything and I mean everything gets shut down. People will go to the store frantically trying to buy all of the bread and the milk they can before the snow actually hits. During my first year of high school in North Carolina there was a chance of snow. The local news school closing hot line called one of my teachers to let them know that all of the surrounding schools were getting out at noon because of the snow storm that was coming. I honestly thought it was a joke because we never had anything like that in Illinois. It ended up being a good thing because not long after the students started to leave, the snow fall was getting heavier and a bus had actually crashed because of how icy the roads were and the lack of time to salt the roads before everything started to melt.
