Going to school in the South really exposed me to how different the culture is across the US. To my surprise, Indiana seemed to be quite the enigma.
To some, it appears that the Midwest state really lives up to its title as “Crossroads of America,” aka going through Indiana to get to somewhere better, but to me, it will always be home.
Here are 17 questions that you’ve probably been asked if you’re an Indiana native:
Everyone loves a snow day! Whether you decide to call out sick from work or your classes get canceled, it is a great way to spend time with family and friends.
People brave enough to face the weather can go outside to build an adorable man made of snow. Relive those childhood glory days, but remember to bundle up!
No one can forget the days of throwing snowballs and shade in the school yard. Can we just take a minute to appreciate how epic this scene from "Elf" is? Totally epic.
All snowball fights need a good base. Not in the mood for battling to the death in an ultimate snowball fight? Just grab your friends and chill inside your new hangout spot, at least until it melts.
Some people can't stand the cold and would much rather catch up on their favorite shows. On snow days this is considered perfectly acceptable. On other days? Maybe not so much...but that doesn't mean I don't occasionally do it, anyway.
Admire the beauty of mother-nature from safely inside your own home. Hope your windows are insulated!
Warm yourself up by grabbing a hot cup of joe with a dear friend. Enjoy mindless chatter about winter fashion trends or complain about the homework you've been procrastinating.
Snow days are the perfect time to compose that essay for school or to do some leisurely shredding at the office. Brent Rambo approves this message.
This time of year sleep deprivation is common. Do yourself a favor and catch some well-deserved Z's!
Feel like laying low but don't actually want to sleep? Curl up with a good book for a few hours. If you're lucky, you might even be able to forget that it's snowing outside.
Nothing better than filling your home with the aroma of freshly baked cookies. Try to space out your cookies better than the above image, though...
Grab a packet of Swiss Miss or dare to make it from scratch! Cookies and hot cocoa pair nicely together on colder days when milk seems insufficient.
Or ice falling, for those of us who have balance and coordination issues. Maybe bring a friend along with you and use them to cushion your fall.
Wear winter boots or make sure the sidewalks are salted so you don't end up taking a tumble. Feeling audacious? Bring your own salt!
Everyone who is in college right now, or has ever been, knows the struggle of pulling in the strings at the last second. It seems impossible, and you have to do a LOT of things in order to assure your future for the next semester.
April Ludgate, historically, is a very annoyed person, and she doesn't hide it. Of all the times that I binged and re-binged "Parks and Rec," her attitude relates more and more to me.
The world is not always sunshine and rainbows, and you do not have to be, either.
Ask friends of mine to name a quality about me, and one a lot them will point out the fact that I am almost always smiling. I like to laugh and smile -- not to quote Buddy the Elf in April, but smiling is my favorite! It is probably my favorite go-to expression. However, what a lot of people do not see is that I have my down days. I have days when smiling and laughing is a real struggle, or when I have so much on my plate that going out of my way to behappy takes more effort than I have stored in me. Be it a symptom of college and growing up or a facet of life, I cannot always be content.
For whatever reason, these down days are not spoken about. One does not casually throw how they cried themselves to sleep during dinner with friends to choruses of "same" and similar examples. For the normally cheerful person, this is even more impossible of a feat, unless they wish to hear the dreaded "But you seem so happy!" when they self-disclose. Not being able to talk about your fears, anxieties, or sadness to those around you for fear you break the illusion of happiness can grow really stifling really fast.
To those cheerful souls stifled by their down days, you are valid.
It is not deceitful to one day be happy and the next day be sad. It is okay to confess you have not been doing well too, even though the conventional way to go about it is to say, "I'm fine" and deal with it later in private. I know I have my times where I, knowing people see me as a relatively happy individual, hide my emotions in an effort to not burden them. I keep it all bottled up and let it fester until it hopefully passes and I can move on. This is not healthy, nor is it realistic, but it is what I have grown accustomed to doing because of my fears.
I imagine my form of bottling things up is not an isolated experience, especially for the typical cheerful person. Everyone has their down moments they feel scared to share. It is cooler not to share, because who wants to hear about someone else's sadness? People just want the good stuff. Life is hard enough without having to hear other people's problems. However, these emotions are normal.
I mean really common.
Even the happiest and most successful person you can think of probably has had them. By asking someone you normally guide for help in getting past a particularly tough day, you are not upsetting them. You are not invalidating the happiness they normally turn to you for. You are not giving up some ruse. You are showing you are human and have real feelings, too. You are showing you have just as much a right to feel your emotions as anyone else. A few more smiles and laughs here and there do not invalidate you. It is just as okay as confiding to someone you know that that previous "I'm fine" you threw their way at dinner actually translates to you are experiencing a rough patch and are finding it hard to find your way back to happiness.
To the cheerful people of the world, feeling sad sometimes is a part of life. Your sad days are just as valid your happy ones, and choosing to express that sadness will not discredit any happiness you may share with the world. Keep spreading your joy when it comes.
Just know that, when the dark clouds do roll in, you are allowed to ask someone for an umbrella.
Timing is key, you don’t want to start too early or too late.
Every store has their own list of what you need and you’ve reached a point where you can’t decide which one is right anymore.
Ads after ads, coupons after coupons, you go shopping all the time and hope you get the best deal.
Buying bins after bins and hoping you have enough for all the essentials
You can’t just take your entire room and place in your dorm. You need to figure out what you need.
You can’t just take your entire room and place in your dorm. You need to figure out what you need.
You have too many clothes and you don’t want to forget your favorite pair of sweatpants.
You knew that top was somewhere, turns out it was in your sister’s dresser.
You know what you need and despite what your parents say yes you need that poster.
If they don’t live by you, the discussion of who’s bringing what becomes harder.
While overpacking is a thing you’re scared you’ll forget something. You go over what you packed in your head a hundred times.
You thought packing made you nervous but here comes move in day, this makes packing look like nothing
Amidst my hectic college career, I always find time for one thing, even on the busiest weeks: Parks and Recreation. This show has made me laugh and has made me cry, but most of all I have related to this show more than I would like to admit.
Here are some "Parks and Rec" moments that relate to life struggles that just about everyone faces.
We’ve all been there. You practically live in the library the week before the test and still, chemistry crushes your soul with every midterm grade.
FINALLY! I mean yeah, it took him 4 hours, but at least he still texted back...right?
When you see those numbers rise and you feel rich for a full minute, and then realize you need to pay for that expensive review session because chemistry is hell.
*scroll* *scroll* then that heart pops up out of nowhere...oh no, what have I done?!
Oh no she didn’t! It is the fifth week of classes, she should know by now that I have called permanent dibs on this seat!
How could they do this to us? Make us fall in love with the character and then just rip them away from us like this?
This is the moment you have been waiting for.
Why is being an adult so hard? Why is chemistry so hard?
Seriously?? My last fry??
Kale? Quinoa? What are these foreign and healthy foods, and why are they in everything now??
New shoes can make you feel like you can take over the world, one step at a time
This is more heartbreaking than realizing that you’re out of clean underwear and need to do laundry. Or chemistry.
Still not as good as mom’s home-cooked meals, but close enough...kind of.
Haha, nice try.
Ron Swanson is my spirit animal.
