I've spent the past two years in a strange land: New England.
It’s
actually not that strange but let me tell you something. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN NEW ENGLAND AND THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (and probably
Canada).
New Englanders like to think they are fun and unique and quirky just because they are a cluster of six states and have a special little group name. WELL THEY AREN’T. And New Englanders actually like to think just that. Before I started college I thought New England was just some football team but, oh, it’s so much more! It’s a unity of six bordering states that are unlike any other states in the country! Please note the sarcasm.
Most
of the kids I go to school with are from (oh you guessed it!) New
England. And they think they are the only people in the world that
drink Dunkin Donuts everyday and wear puffy vests and knee high boots. They
love to call their friends Massholes and to drive badly. It's part of being a
New Englander to them.
And
it doesn't matter where you are, someone will imitate a
Massachusetts/Boston accent and likely offend someone. Everyone from
Massachusetts says they're from Boston but they're likely from some suburb an
hour away. I've noticed that a lot of New Englanders call Boston "the
city" and say "next town over" and I think both are really
cute and funny. I’m
from New York State. And guess what? We don’t care about your state snobbery.
Yeah, I drink Dunkin Donuts in a place that’s not New England and yeah, I’ve
seen people wearing puffy vests (consciously??) outside your area.
The
real thing that had me laughing for a good 36 hours and telling everyone within
a 30 mile radius of Syracuse about was the time a classmate said to another,
“Yeah, it’s a New England thing.” THIS GUY WAS LITERALLY TALKING ABOUT A
FLANNEL SHIRT. FLANNEL. SHIRT. FLANNNNEL. FLANNEL. A lot of people wear
flannel?? Outside of New England?? It wasn't even invented in this country??
Who knew it wasn’t actually a New England thing??
I
live in a place were people have referred to Tom Brady as the President of
Boston and Gisele Bündchen as our First Lady. Boston sports rule and govern the
happiness of the inhabitants of the six states and nothing else matters.
I love Boston. I really do. I want my last two years of college to be filled with nothing but Boston and its insane citizens. I've grown into the person I want to be because of this city so even if New Englanders are self-centered sometimes they have every right to be. They take pride in their domain and I feel this way too.
I never want to make fun of New England but sometimes it seems necessary. This is a group of people so deeply rooted in their way of life and I know one blog post can never change anything. There are things special and unique to New England that I am definitely forgetting (on purpose and on accident) to include. I haven't even explored New England that much. A few day trips here and there are all I know. These six states come together as one because they aren't as big in population and space as other more superior states (just kidding on the superior thing).
But there are a few token people who know the difference between New England and the other 44 states: That there is no difference. I love you Boston but the way New England is obsessed with being New England is terrifying and weird to a New Yorker like me. But I wouldn't change anything.