for years i despised wisconsin. maybe it was because i was a teenager just itching to get out of my hometown. i was eager for higher education and world travel. now i'm halfway done with college and i've seen more than enough of Europe for now. going from living an international lifestyle to moving back home with my family seemed like a big downgrade, but now that i'm back home i'm really glad that i'm here.

wisconsin really is a good place to live. as much as i hark on the hick population of this city, they're still nice people. winters can be cold, summers can be amazing. it's beautiful here year round (except when it's winter and there's grey sky but no snow on the ground so all you see is dead grass). we're hardworking people. i like our style of living. i like our modesty and sense of community. i love the fact that an hour south of here you can be in a city of 500,000 people and two hours north of here you can be in door county. i love the fact that lake michigan is less than a mile away from my house. even though madison really does suck, i love the fact that it's a city full of yuppie liberals who support groundbreaking medical research at one of the nation's best public university systems.

i really don't foresee myself living the rest of my life in wisconsin, but i'm glad that my roots are here.