Growing up in New Jersey there were definitely times when me and my fellow Jersey people would complain about, or make fun of, our small state. But we did all of it with love because, when push comes to shove, most of us really like New Jersey almost all the time. However, going to school in a different state and interacting with people from all over the place has made me realize that not everyone is quite so fond of the Garden State. They tell me it's "the armpit of America", it smells bad, people from Jersey are weird or drunk and partying on a beach (thanks Jersey Shore), and whole long list of complaints. So, to all of those people, please stop hating on New Jersey. There's actually quite a bit of awesome stuff about the little state tucked between New York, Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic Ocean and, if you continue reading, I'll do my best to prove it to you. Or rather, to disprove your statements that New Jersey is the worst of the 50 states.

I'm coming to the conclusion that a lot of people envision New Jersey as nothing more than a tangled pit of overcrowded highways and train tracks, which is really quite sad. Yes, we do have a lot of roads but guess what? They all lead to places that people like to go. With New York City, Philadelphia, and even Boston not too far away, we're always able to get in the car or hop on the train and find ourselves in a major city in not much time at all. You may be thinking that none of those cities are actually in New Jersey, and you are correct. But the proximity to all of them without the added congestion and traffic makes our little state pretty cool. Additionally, if cities aren't your thing or you're looking for something a bit more natural, New Jersey has over 130 miles of coastline. Sure it's only warm enough swim in the ocean from late May to early September but, during those hot summer months, you don't have to drive too far to get to the beach. Cities and the ocean still aren't your thing? New Jersey has lots of state parks for hiking, biking, and picnics. Basically, if there's somewhere you want to go or something you want to do, you don't have to go too far in (or out) of New Jersey before you're there.

Some other fun things to do in Jersey include shopping and attending sports events. With lots of malls - and no sales tax on clothing - New Jersey is a great place to go to add to your wardrobe or get gifts (as grocery stores and a few commercials are already reminding us that Christmas is coming). As for sports, the Devils, Red Bulls, Giants, and Jets all play in New Jersey. A common argument is that the Giants and Jets are technically New York sports teams. This is true, but both teams play and train in New Jersey, so which state do you have to be in to see a game? You guessed it: New Jersey.

Now onto food. As much as I love my school in upstate New York, there's one thing that I will never get up here and that is a good bagel. New Jersey is basically a bagel capital and, if you've never had a Jersey bagel, you are seriously missing out. Although maybe you want to hold off on eating one because then any other bagel just won't be as good.

The same can be said for pizza. It genuinely confuses me when pizza arrives cut into little squares instead of normal slices. Besides the appearance, though, there's something about the pizza in Jersey that is simply delicious and it's something I have yet to acquire elsewhere. Except Italy.

Also related to food, New Jersey isn't called the Garden State for nothing. New Jersey is a huge producer of spinach, bell peppers, lettuce, and most delicious, blueberries. So, if you enjoy blueberry pie, blueberry yogurt, put blueberries in smoothies, or just like munching on blueberries, there's a good chance they came from New Jersey (5th blueberry producing state in the country).

Is New Jersey perfect? No. But what state is, really? Are there some really weird, not so nice people in or from New Jersey? Yes, but where are you going to find an entire state full of super nice, great people? I hope you've realized that New Jersey isn't actually a terrible place. And, if you still think it's the absolute worst place to be, then bye, we didn't want you there anyways.