Looked Over

On this day in 1664, the colony of New Jersey was founded. Spending the first 18 years of my life in Jersey, I have heard just about every stupid stereotypical Jersey-hating putdown possible. It stinks, the roads are weird, it’s dirty, people are mean, bla bla bla. Shut your pie-hole, put down your haterade, and listen to how awesome it really is. I can’t think of another state in the country that has more diverse landscapes crammed into such a little space. You seriously can’t drive a half hour in any direction without it looking totally different. Cities, suburbs, farms, mountains, forests, wetlands, beaches, and just about everything but a desert. For those of you who have only ever been to Newark or Camden, hold your criticism until you’ve gone kayaking in the pine barrens, taken a drive through the farmlands, or hiked the mountains in the north. Also, it is one of only two states that pump your gas for you, AND it’s some of the cheapest gas in the country. Out-of-towners get freaked out by the “jug-handles” on the roads, but once you quit crying about it and figure out how they work, you’ll realize that they make traffic flow MUCH faster and fill the world with joy and sunshine. I could go on and on about the history, culture, or how those idiots from “The Jersey Shore” on MTV aren’t even FROM Jersey, but I will end it here like a good New Jersey native with a smug sense of self-righteous arrogance even though I moved out of Jersey 6 years ago. whoops.