I Am From Virginia

You Know You're From Virginia When...

• Speed limits are just suggestions
• You have at least two friends who have no idea what their relatives do...because its "top secret" government work
• Most of your senior class wend to Mason, JMU, Tech, VCU or UVA
  
• You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting "northern," "central," or "southern" in front of it
• It's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you.
• You know yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through. (Yeah, man...at least. Probably also happens everywhere else.) A red light means 2 more can.
• You actually know what the black boxes at stoplights are for.
• You took a field trip to Williamsburg as a kid
• You or someone in your family has a Smart Tag
• An inch of snow and you miss 3 days of school
• All the potholes just add a little excitement to your driving experience
• Crown Victoria = undercover cop
• Subway is a fast food place. The transportation system is known as Metro, and only Metro.
• If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have three new names.
• You have never been served tea without the waitress asking "sweet or unsweetened?"
• Your favorite past time is telling West Virginia jokes.
• Anyone who can't trace his or her ancestry back to at least four generations in Virginia is an outsider.
• "Going to the beach" means anywhere from Ocean City to Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach.
• You measure distance in minutes
• You use "fix" as a verb. Example: I'm fixin' to go to the store
• You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a little warm"
• You know there are three type of summer weather: Hot, hazy, and humid (with the occasional thunderstorm thrown in there just for good measure)
  
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Virginia.

I am from Virginia. I am a southerner, and I am proud of my heritage. My college loyalty is to Virginia Tech, and now, more recently, JMU (though I swear I bleed Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange). My high schools couldn't have been more different, despite the fact that they were thirty minutes away from each other, but I didn't mind going to either. Belle Isle and Maymont Park are two of my favorite places, but I hate going "north of the river." Despite that, Carytown is one of the best places to shop, and the closest mall to my house is about 45 minutes away. Paying tolls means paying fifty-cents, and without my SmartTag, I'd be hopelessly lost, missing on the first throw. I do believe that speed limits are only suggestions, but I also abide by George Carlin's quote of "anyone going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac." I have tailgated, been tailgated and probably will have both occur sometime soon. I applied to four out of the 5 major colleges here in Virginia (UVA, VT, W&M and JMU) and planned on attending one of those four. Both of my parents came from Smalltown, VA, but I still love going back there and visiting family. Speaking of family, mine is very large and close. I have more cousins than I can count on my fingers and toes combined, and the number of second cousins I have is beginning to creep close to that. And yes, people, I have been to a family reunion (and enjoyed most of it too). To me, Ukrops was more than just a grocery store- it was a way of life, and I will miss it dearly when they're gone. Yes, the school system here sucks, as do the SOLs, and some of the teachers, but hey- I got my education. My neighborhood is small, but tight-knit. And a year-and-a-half ago, I was so ready to get out of there... out of the house, out of the county... I was ready to leave. But when I got to college, I realized that I was no longer the big fish in a small pond, but now I was a tiny fish in a huge pond. As time goes on, though, I stop and reminisce about my time spent at home and everything that went on there. One day, I dreamed of getting out of Virginia and moving on to something bigger... something better. And maybe that will happen. All I know is that Virginia is home and I love it. And one day, when I'm older (and wiser), maybe when I'm about to graduate, I'll look back on those memories. I'll remember my hometown, and everything I used to hate about it. And all those things will seem nice. I might hate everything about it now, but I know that one day I'll be saying, "Those were the best days of my life, and I can't wait to go home."