We were quite the sight at the nearest strip mall off of I-90. It was May of my freshman year and we were lugging back my dorm room, my mother, my father, two small sisters and me from Massachusetts to New Jersey. I was antsy to return to my hometown for a summer. I had had a fantastic time at WPI, but all I really wanted was to sleep in my own bed again. Just as we made considerable headway into our journey, the unspeakable happened. My father’s car stopped running halfway through Connecticut.

We had to repeatedly turn the car on and back off again to regain a trace of a heartbeat. We could tell that the end was near for this one, our beloved Honda that had given us seven years of love and had given another family before us eleven years of dutiful service. Thinking back, the breakdown was inevitable. In the words of Channing Tatum, "life's all about moments of impact and how they change our lives forever." From then on, the thought of Connecticut had been marred forever.

As a Jersey girl, I am accustomed to finding everything the heart desires within a 15-30 minute drive. Don’t get me wrong, road trips are fun! Just not when your trip consists of one of two options:

A. A barrage of cars, lined up tail to tail on their way from New England to NYC

B. No sign of life out here but the concrete-confined trees and the dying grass

Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle between my lovely college town and my home sweet home is Connecticut. And as such, I am not affectionate of this portion of land. The worst part is I know that Connecticut is actually great, if you give it a chance. It has a huge variety of environments for people to live in and has these great community fairs each season.

But even so, my view of the Constitution State is not so constitutional. I miss out on the strawberry festivals and city-side beaches and get 100% long-winding road.

One day, I will gain a newfound appreciation of Connecticut. Until then, know that many of us Jersey kids taking over your New England institutions simply cannot deal. Perhaps it is our pompous approach to ground transportation (after all, tons of us have never pumped our own gas!) But, more likely, it is that we simply have not had the opportunity to make the most our of this historic and rich state.

And to all my Connecticut friends, bless you. I wish to one day be as hardcore as you all are for putting up with I-90 all your lives.