I am originally from a small town in Indiana and when I decided to come to Alabama I knew things might be different, but not as much as I thought. I am your typical midwestern girl who lived in a small town for 18 years and decided to make a move when she decided on a college. These are just a few things that have caught my attention since moving here in 2016.

For starters, I am not sure if this is just an Indiana thing, but we dip our breadsticks in cheese. ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will. So I thought everywhere and everyone did that, but no. Apparently, this is a rare thing that so far only people from Indiana do or so I’ve been told.

Also if I haven’t noticed already Alabama is a HUGE football school, its crazy. Indiana is all about that Hoosier Basketball pride and no please don't ask me for a concrete definition of what a Hoosier is because I really don’t totally know. Something associated with Alabama Football season that is so different from Indiana is tailgate attire.

For a typical tailgate at Alabama the girls are in their cutest of cute outfits, this means no t-shirts or jean shorts. Also, hair is done down to the roots, you bet everyone is walking around with a blowout. So back home in Indiana, it is very casual, to say the least. You could wear your candy stripe pants with an adorable Indiana tube top and white converse.

Coming from Indiana to Alabama was really shocking and confusing because this was just not my norm. Another thing I learned is that if you are planning to wear flats on game day they better be cowboy boots and nothing else or you should be wearing wedges. Don’t get me wrong I will always be an Indiana Hoosier, but my heart also belongs to the Crimson Tide now.

An obvious difference is the weather. The weather here in Alabama tends to be a lot nicer than Indiana. I do love when Alabama has “snow days” because it simply isn’t a real snow day to me. A snow day back home could be anything related to wind chill, ice, or you guessed it snow. School rarely was cancelled unless it was absolutely unbearable to drive, stand outside, or even simply walk. The snow days here in Bama are not even an inch of snow at times and it usually melts away in 15 minutes.

Cowboy boots are not just for a costume, they are simply everyday shoes here. At home in Indiana, it was a little rare to see someone confidently wearing cowboy boots with their jeans and a buttoned up shirt. Cowboy boots must be in your closet if you even want to consider going or coming to Alabama. I do love the cowboy boots as I think they give some flavor to the scene.

The University of Alabama vs. Auburn University rival is so real it makes Indiana University vs. Purdue University look tame. I used to think that the Alabama vs. Auburn rival was just like any other rival, but no. Whenever I see anything Auburn related my blood begins to boil.

Now growing up in Indiana the rival between IU and Purdue was super real too, but I really don't think its as extreme as Alabama vs. Auburn. When Alabama lost to Auburn on November 25th, 2017 Bama fans went into a full-blown meltdown. I have never received so many Snapchats of my friends in tears, that was a hard day for us.

Nothing is better though than winning the 2018 National Championship, lol suck on that Auburn. That was sweet sweet revenge.