I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio; it's been my home for almost 20 years. I have read articles on here talking about ways people know they're from a certain city or place, and I wanted to join in on the fun. Toledo is a special and great city. It's even more special if you live here and have called it home all of your life, or even if you live somewhere else but come back home sometimes or call it your city of origin. Here are some ways you know you're from Toledo:

The roads have been under construction since before you were born.

Your summers were spent either at the Toledo Zoo, or the library for Summer Reading Club.

Cedar Point or Mud Hens trips happened more than once during the summer.

Also... What exactly is a Mud Hen?

Your go-to date place during the winter: The Lights Before Christmas at the zoo.

There are probably multiple pictures of you in front of the big tree too.

You also got a say in what the baby elephant's name would be at the zoo!

You still call Westfield, "Franklin Park" mall.

While driving and coming across someone going waaaaay too slow or driving crazily, you automatically look for the Michigan license plate.

Your house is divided: half U of M fans, half OSU fans.

But there is no rivalry bigger than that of UT and BGSU, otherwise known as "The Battle of I-75".

Your commute is 9/10 times backed up by a train somewhere.

Everyone you know talks about how badly they want to leave the city...

...But they somehow never seem to.

If you did leave, you don't mind coming back every once in awhile.

"OMG Do you know Katie Holmes?!" is not an unusual question.

You can still recall jingles, such as: "Everyboday's zooin' it", the Erie Street market one, "This is home", and many more.

Tony Packo's. Enough said.

You've heard many stories from your parents about the blizzard of 1978.

Seriously. Every time it snows.

And sometimes wished the snow would get that bad to cancel school!

You or someone you know has hit (or almost hit) a deer while driving to work or school.

Schools being closed or delayed because of fog is normal to you.

Jeeps. Jeeps everywhere.

No one from your high school wanted to stay in town for UT...

... But if you did, you love it, growing up knowing you'd go there!

You call Toledo, the "TOL" or the "419."

You dread driving along the Anthony Wayne trail in the winter because of potholes.

Frankly, you dread driving anywhere in the winter because of the potholes.

You only frequent Downtown Toledo for Spaghetti Warehouse, the Walleye, Mud Hens, the Docks, parades, etc.

Almost everyone you knew took prom or homecoming pictures at the Docks at one point in your high school career.

People also took pictures at the Toledo Museum of Art.

High school sports rivalries were no joke.

And even if your team didn't win, you were still proud of one of the city's many schools for making it to a state championship.

You went to Southwyck mall on the weekends, just to ride that carousel, throw coins in the fountain, grab some candy, or get your face painted by a clown. (RIP Southwyck)

Even if you really live in a suburb, you still say, "I'm from Toledo!"

You have fond childhood memories of going to the drive-in movies and staying up late to watch that second film.

As a kid, you only went to the store with mom to get this sticker:

You're familiar with Opal Covey.

You never thought about how much there is to do, growing up here and all, until people pointed out everything the city has to offer!

And you didn't appreciate the city too much until you grew up and saw you would do better in Toledo.