Being from Rhode Island has its obvious perks. We live in one of the most beautiful and historical states in the country. Our beaches are fantastic. We are called The Ocean State for a reason. We are a tight knit community and there are some things that only us Rhode Islanders understand. No, we are not a part of Long Island. If you are an out of state driver, please just stay off the roads.

1. Bubbler

You are on your way to class and you explain to your roommate that you need to get some water in your new Brita bottle from the bubbler. A puzzled look comes across their face. "What is a bubbler?" they ask. I apologize for my Rhode Island accent. A bubbler is a water fountain, where you get water from during the school day. Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with bubbles. The word "water fountain" is too long, so we just call it a bubbler.

2. The Patriots

As you and your friends are talking about your favorite sports teams in the dining hall one of them says, "I am a Browns fan." You spit out your drink in disbelief. "How can you not love the Patriots? What about Brady? What about Gronk? You are a terrible Rhode Islander!" But then you remember that you are not in high school. Not everyone is a die-hard Patriots fan because you are no longer in the Rhode Island bubble anymore.

3. Providence Place

It is one of the first weekends of the school year and your friends decide that they want to go to Providence for the day. You end up at Providence Place as it is the largest carpeted mall in New England. As you casually stroll through your friends are completely awe struck at the selection of stores. Being from Rhode Island, you pretty much grew up at PPM. The novelty of it has worn off by now. You know the place like the back of your hand and you know exactly where the best place is to pay for your parking ticket without waiting in line for 3 hours.

4. WaterFire

While in Providence your friends want to go to WaterFire. Of course, they have no idea what that is. You need to explain that it is not associated with the restaurant Fire and Ice and yes, it is possible to have fire on water. Once again everyone is fascinated with how beautiful it is and, although it is beautiful, you have been to WaterFire at least 25 times. You do not need any more low quality pictures of flames on water.

5. Knowing Everyone

It is a well known fact that if you are from Rhode Island then you pretty much know everyone. No matter where you go, you are guaranteed to see at least six people who you know. This is a foreign concept for your friends from Massachusetts and Connecticut. You sit next to someone in class who is your dance partner's ex-boyfriend. How do you know that? It's because this is Rhode Island.

6. Traveling

Being from the smallest state it takes an hour to get from Westerly to Woonsocket. Your classmate from New Jersey traveled 45 minutes every day to get to high school. Are you kidding me? That is a day trip in RI. You better pack a lunch and maybe even an overnight bag. No, nobody uses RIPTA to get anywhere. Our idea of public transportation is carpooling because you cannot stand the idea of rush hour traffic on 95.

7. Coffee Milk

Ah yes, the pride and joy of Rhode Island. When there is coffee milk in the dining hall it is the best day ever. Your friends are immediately confused. "So is this like coffee with milk?" No. It is the same thing as chocolate or strawberry milk, except with coffee syrup. It is really not that strange.

8. Del's Lemonade

This is perhaps one of the best things to come out of Rhode Island. It's the typical summer treat and you always stop at the sign of the lemon. It is one of the first things that you show to your non-Rhode Island friends because you could never get tired of Del's. Then the unthinkable happens. They put a straw or a spoon into the Del's cup. You immediately stop them as that is pretty much against the law in Rhode Island. "Just drink it straight from the cup," you say, as they hesitantly throw away their straw/spoon.

Although your friends will never truly understand Rhode Island, you take pride in your small state and love that you get to show it off to them. You are proud of being from the littlest state. It might be the smallest state, but it has the biggest heart.