9 Things You'll Only Understand If You Grew Up In Central New Jersey

This piece was inspired by an article my cousin recently wrote on the things only people who grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina will relate to. People of Central New Jersey, this is for you!

1. You have a major Wawa addiction.

This was the first place you drove your friends when you got your license, and now you pretty much live at Wawa. It baffles you that some people can live their entire lives without visiting the greatest franchise on earth.

Side note: it drives you CRAZY when people refer to Wawa as "The Wawa."

2. You definitely never understood that strange "I Hate Steven Singer" billboard on the way to Philadelphia...

Also, you've TOTALLY googled it at least once.

3. You take bagels very seriously.

No other state’s bagels can compare with the taste of fresh, Jersey bagels. That is not an opinion, that is a fact.

4. Going "down the shore" took too long for a day trip, so you became a regular at beaches like Belmar and Spring Lake.

There might not be a real boardwalk with rides and fried Oreos at Belmar, but there IS a Playa Bowls, which was 99% of the reason you and your friends made the drive down.

5. Back when Jersey Shore was relevant, (is it really coming back?!) friends from out of state loved to mock your overly-bronzed, fist-pumping brethren, even though the cast isn't from Jersey.

Staten Island simply does not equal New Jersey... sorry.

6. You have no idea how to pump your own gas.

If I were going to college in any other state, I'd be, for lack of a better phrase, completely and utterly screwed.

7. Taking the train to New York City alone with your friends for the first time was pretty much a rite of passage.

The first time you did this was both terrifying and exhilarating.

8. You can navigate jug-handles like a pro.

Why are there so many jug-handles? We may never know, but shoutout to the road planners in Jersey for confusing the heck out of visitors.

9. When people ask whether you live in North Jersey or South Jersey, you still never quite know how to respond.

Usually, you mumble something incoherent along the lines of: “Um, like sorta in the middle, I guess.” (Or maybe I’m the only one who does that?)