Everyone who has grown up in the Mohawk Valley knows exactly what the Mohawk Valley is all about. It's a unique experience to spend your formative years getting older here. No one gets it quite like Valley kids, from Frankfort-Schuyler to Little Falls and Dolgeville, we're a unique bunch.

1. Pizza Rivalries

Everyone has a favorite pizza joint, and will fight you tooth and nail determined that theirs is the best one. (Sorrento in Ilion is obviously superior to all other pizza joints, obviously.)

2. Parties in the "Gorge"

Sadly I, being the goody-two shoes I was in high school, missed out on my opportunity to go out and drink in the gorge without appearing to be the washed up college student that I currently am. Despite this, parties in "The Gorge" were the things of legends. Never forget the infamous Gorge Party of 2013, where every team in Ilion High School had to forfeit their upcoming games as punishment for getting caught. From what I hear, though, it was totally worth it.

3. Football Season

Now, let me explain something for a second: Even though all the area schools have football teams, that doesn't mean that any of them were particularly good. However, football games were the places to be on a Friday night. Even if you weren't necessarily paying attention to the game, the bleachers were the place to catch up on the latest "he said, she said." Of course, you'd pick up cues from the parents and the kids that cared about the game for clapping, cheering, etc. For the most part, though, everyone was just there to catch up and gossip.

4. Driving to Utica to do anything fun

When the closest mall is a half hour away and not the best, you know you're in Small Town U.S.A. You can't even get Starbucks without driving to Utica (P.S. It's not even Starbucks, it's just a cafe in a B&N that "Proudly Brews Starbucks Coffee".) However, this never stopped us from begging our parents to drive us until we got licenses and jobs to get Panera ourselves. No matter how many times you go, though, Sangertown Square will always hold a special place in your heart, even if they cycle out stores every 3-6 months.

5. Getting really aggressive about Utica food

Chicken Riggies, Greens, Half Moons, and Tomato Pie are NOT "Upstate New York dishes," they are Utica's and Utica's alone. And we in the Valley, although not technically from Utica, will go in on you if you dare to give these foods any less hometown credit than they deserve. Plus, they're staples at any and all graduation parties in the area.

6. Ice Cream Rivalries

As if there weren't enough rivalries around here, people will also fight for their favorite place to stop and get ice cream. Whether it's the Ice Cream Station, Woody's, Mrs. Shake's, or good ol' fashioned Stewarts, everyone knows their place of choice when the summers get hot.

7. You know everyone

You know everyone, their mother, their cousins, their rank in your class and most importantly, their business. Nothing stays quiet in these small towns, and your reputation can and will precede you. People that you've never met, even in the next town over, know the last three guys you dated, and you probably know some of their dirty laundry as well. Gossip spreads fast, and your only hope is to go to college at least an hour away if you want to get out of it.

8. It seems like everyone is engaged, married, or pregnant.

Every time you come home for break, it feels like someone new is on the settling down train. All the power to them, and good for them for getting their adult lives together. If you need me, I'll be over here trying to pass my Gen Eds and graduate on time while maintaining a social life. Personally, I'd rather hold off on growing up for as long as possible, but no shade to anyone who's at that point in their life already. Just know that I'm jealously eyeing the rock on your finger and/or the baby in your arms.

9. Nostalgia

Even though we all "hate our towns" and some of us even had bands that wrote songs about it, when we move on with our lives and move away, it will always be home to us. We met some of our best friends here, made some amazing memories, and even when we go and do big things, we all got our start here in the Valley, and we should never forget where we came from. Our roots are important, and besides, nothing beats coming home and getting riggies and greens from mom and dad.