Michigan is a state that harbors a unique and special place in my heart. Being the place I was born and raised in, I can say with certainty that nearly everyone has this kind of near and dear fondness that they have towards their home state, but despite this I can’t help but feel as though this connection I have with my home is more than skin deep.

Northwest Indiana is a lot like Michigan. It has the same midwest “charm”; the animals and tree species are the same, the weather is relatively similar, and if I was driving and there were no declarative state border signs on the highway, I wouldn’t be able to tell where which one ended and the other began. However, despite their similarities, there are a few seemingly minute differences between the two that I couldn’t possibly declare them to be the same.

Maybe I’m just ready for classes to be over, but for the past few months I have been dreaming of going back home to a Michigan that is fully encompassed by the bloom of summer. I can viscerally imagine sitting on a patio dappled with sunshine and shade, and I miss having evening drives with my friends through a wooded area and hearing the frogs and crickets sing before bed. I long for the warm days where I could curl up underneath the two huge maple trees that stood in front of my house and recline in a hammock with a good book. One of my favorite sights during the first half of summer in Michigan is the flicker of fireflies floating gently above the lawn, and although the song of the robins in the morning isn’t exactly the most unique thing to hear, I still somehow appreciate it more when I’m at home.

Hell, sometimes I even miss the most mundane things about my home state. There are days where I’m wishing for humidity, of all things! Indiana doesn’t get hot and sticky like it does in Michigan, and despite the sometimes icky feeling of the air clinging to your skin, I still somehow miss it. I even sometimes long for the days I spent at my family's cottage in the Thumb, where, although lethargic and boring at times, is still a place of relaxation that I hold a lot of summer memories.

In the end, however, I know that how I feel is not too unique after all. It would be strange if I didn't feel this way about my home, and I'm sure that many others feel the exact same way about their own homes. With only a few more weeks of classes left, and summer just around the corner, I know that I don't have too much time before I can anticipate a warm and easygoing time of relaxation.