1. Whenever you go out of town or to college, everybody assumes you're from Chicago just becasue you say you're from Illinois.
2. You have to pick a side between Mi Pueblito (fondly known as Mi Pueb) or Guadalajara...or you might go rogue and say El Corral is your favorite.
3. You know all about the smell of Staley's (which is actually called Tate&Lyle, it's just that your parents called it Staley's when you were growing up).
4. And you also know how fun it is to speed across the viaduct...even though there's probably a cop at the bottom....
5. If you went to Eisenhower (The E) or MacArthur (Mac), you know that Staley Day, now known as Bragging Rights, is the most important game of the season.
6. You know the best ice cream is at Krekel's.
7. You, or someone you know, were totally obsessed with Icon For Hire.
8. You had parts of the train schedule memorized just from getting stuck one too many times.
9. The Celebration is the place to be come August.
10. You never quite understood the mural at the top of the library stairs. Apparently the books are supposed to look like moving wings as you ascend?
11. You brag to people from other places about that time Matt Damon came to town.
12. Nothing is scarier than Greenwood Cemetery. People see a lady on these stairs...a dead lady....
13. And you're a little freaked out that someone actually had the guts to move into Powers Mansion. Come on dude, haven't you heard of the Haunted Decatur books?
14. Your love for the Children's Museum only grows as the years go on.
15. Steak and Shake was your favorite place to go after high school football games.
16. Nothing is worse for your allergies than the corn harvest.
17. The Y103 jingle will forever be stuck in your head.
18. You were always excited to see what the bikini tree would be wearing for the summer.
19. You know that this is a cheese toasty, not a grilled cheese.
20. You want to drive the Chicken car more than you want to drive any other car.
21. You know that Lincoln Square got its name because Honest Abe gave his first speech there.
22. You're always super excited when Del's has Elam's Root-beer.
23. You also have to pick a side between Del Carmen's and Monical's. (Del Carmen's has my heart, although I do enjoy Monical's from time to time.
24. You've been to a birthday party with Sally the Clown.
25. Decatur will always be home.