You’ve told your parents you couldn’t wait to get out of this place: there is nothing to do around here, everyone is fake, blah, blah, blah… Little did we know these are the characteristics of wherever you will go.   

We wanted schools far away enough to learn some things for ourselves without leaning on our families, but we also wanted to be close enough that if anything happened it wouldn’t be too long of a drive.   

Now we are finally realizing what we are missing when we are home sick and the weird things we deal with when being from the Region. 

1. Not having a Chipotle or Portillo's close enough.     

2. People telling you that you talk funny.     

3. Having to explain that you’re kind of from Chicago, but also close to Gary as well. 

4. Being known as the “region rat.”     

5. Having to explain what mostacholi is.      

6. Running into people from high school all the time.     

7. Just now getting a Forever21 at Southlake even though we all now live at least an hour or three away from home.     

8. Being way too far away from your pet.