A Piece of Me Died Today

When I was in college, I made a sign as a joke.  It was called, 'The Measure of A Man Equation,' which equaled=GPA X Bench Press Max X Where You Are From.  Most of my friends were smart or heavy weight lifters, but usually not both.  I was never anything amazing at Bench Press, but it was decent compared to the average joe and I had a high GPA, so the equation favored me.  Then I had a separate scale to rate where you are from, that went something like this:
6-Illinois
5-Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri
4-Midwestern States
3-Foreign Country
2-East/West Coast
anddddddd
1-Texas, California, Florida

Here I am, joyfully and happily writing this from a state at the bottom of the totem pole.  A state I have held with disdain.  A state that rubbed me the wrong way from all the uber-proud Texans I have met in my travels and at college.  A state that is home to the most tiresome fan base in sports, which I wrote an article on and held back nothing.   And a state that I now love and quite enjoy.  Irony. 
I had known I wanted to leave Illinois for a long time. I always tell people I'm proud of where I come from and I know a lot of great people there. But it was time to try something new. I lived in Illinois for over two decades and that was more than plenty. I'm a firm believer in constantly challenging yourself. Whenever you stay in the same place, in the same situation, never leaving your comfort zone, it is difficult to develop, grow and build character.

With that said, it was not the easiest thing to change my plates. It means I officially left my beloved midwestern Abe Lincoln soil for a state that has seriously attempted to secede from the rest of the US and be it's own country.  If Texas were a country, in 2009 it would have ranked 14th in the world for largest GDP. And it would rank in the top 50 for population. And now I'm starting to sound like I'm from here.......Anyways, the process to transfer my title, etc. was pretty expensive. People always talk about how great Texas is because there isn't a State Income Tax and outside of traffic costs and tolls, the Dallas area really does have a relatively low cost of living. But I say, you make up for that when you have to pay for the oxy-moron '$90 Welcome to Texas Tax,' Vehicle Inspection, and so on. But I'm glad it's over now.
Whenever I tell someone I'm originally from Illinois, probably 8 times out of 10, they say, 'oh, you're from Illinoise, what part of Chicago?' I tell them I've never heard of Illinoise and that I have enough fingers to count how many times I've ever been to Chicago. But I hear these things enough, they aren't even annoying anymore. Then they asked why I moved and it usually surprises them when I say I wanted to try something new. This is definitely a great place to do it. I haven't started saying y'all yet, but I love it.

"Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans." -John Lennon