As a resident of Metro-Detroit for a majority of my life, I have seen it all.

With a lack of consistency from the economy (and worse yet, the weather), Michigan often seems like a hard place to reside.

Yes, our beautiful state often receives negativity from the outside world. The general perspective of Michigan, from other parts of the country, often eludes to the the tendency for crisis in cities like Flint, or places such as our once thriving Detroit, that have lacked a sense of stability in recent years. Many people residing in the Motor City area have faced an overwhelming wave of economic downfall, crime, and racial segregation, resulting in the state, and major city, receiving negative feedback from other parts of the country.

However, I argue that it's all about perspective.

Perspective is defined as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something, or in other words, a point of view. After living in the mitten for nearly fifteen years, my perspective of Michigan is nothing but pride and sincerity, because I am proud to live in this great state.

As a college student at Michigan State University, I live about five minutes away from the capital of Michigan, which is Lansing. Due to my close proximity to the central hub for politics in our state, I have learned quite a bit about the history of where I live. However, as a child, I never realized how bad things were. I knew that Detroit was often referred to as "a scary place to be", but I never quite knew why. All around me, people were losing jobs, struggling to pay bills, and praying that times would get better. Although I didn't acknowledge it at the time, I now appreciate how far we have come.

Why is it so great? Well, it is simple. What people don't commonly see is the strive we take every single day.

Yes, our economy and government were on the decline for a period of time, but our comeback has been nothing but great.This greatness thrives because Michigan has an attitude unlike any other. Through it all, we have managed to build resilience, determination, and embrace our diverse culture.

From Motor City to the beauty of the Upper Peninsula, our pride, assimilated with our passion to rebuild our home, has helped us grow into the state we are today.

We have recovered our home through working together and finding ways to improve our situation, despite the negativity around us. Our perspective on each crisis proved that we embodied an attitude of strength and perseverance, something I hope to obtain on my own some day.

From learning to drive in snow in April, to knowing more about hockey than I ever intended, I love the person Michigan has helped me become. I am so proud to be from the Mitten, and I hope to parallel our state's theme of building resilience and overcoming adversity for the rest of my life. I know that when times are hard, Michigan will hustle harder, and I am forever thankful to my Great Lakes state.