"Where are you from?” is a recurring question ever since I moved down south. I always replied, “I’m from the midwest-northwest Indiana,” but I got extremely tired of the response I always got: “Oh, Indiana? There’s nothing there but cornfields!” At first, I kind of agreed that not much was going on up there, but there were a lot people who didn’t understand and took for granted small towns up north. So as time went on and I realized this more and more, I was so proud to call Indiana my home. I'm even prouder now to say I’m a Midwestern girl, born and raised.
To those who call Indiana or other midwest states "home," they can probably agree with me when I say it’s so much more than dirt roads, cornfields, and small towns. Coming from a town that didn’t have movie theaters, malls, beaches, Headpinz and Go-Kartz on every corner, it made you creative with your time and forced you to interact with your friends and the people around you. Most nights consisted of bonfires and little hang-outs in basements. It may sound simple to you, but those friendships I created under the Friday Night Lights and in-between passing periods in my small town’s only high school are honestly the truest friends I've ever had.
It’s kind of like the lyrics “I miss being somebody everybody knows” from the Tim McGraw song “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s,” because once you live somewhere for a long period of time, people know everything about you, your family and the impact you make on your community, as well as those who impacted you, such as coaches, teachers, and fellow classmates. Whether it’s taking your team to states or playing on the local club team or volunteering, people know your name and remember your face, which is one of the best feelings in the world.
When you live somewhere with sub-zero weather, you appreciate the sunshine, outdoors and the beach a whole lot more. In Florida, I’ve heard so many people say “I don’t want to go to the beach. It’s boring and too hot.” And I can promise you, those are words you’d never hear from a Midwest girl.
Yes, cornfields are everywhere in Indiana and sometimes boredom falls over us, but you have to create your own fun. Some of us do move away, but we never lose our roots and still wander back to visit from time to time. Even when you leave the small town that shaped you into the person you are, the values you've learned never escape you, and when you reminisce with your new friends about your Midwestern life, you can’t help but be proud of where you came from.
