As I wake up at noon, my body being only partially recovered after 3 days of intense celebrating, I turn over and look at the Bucky Badger stuffed animal I have had on my nightstand for the past 4 years. I start to think about Bucky, and how he now is rough around the edges from being moved from dorm to Sorority house to apartment to a different apartment, and how he used to sing the Wisconsin fight song, but his batteries are no longer functioning, and his caretaker (me) has become too lazy or preoccupied to change them. I become sad because I'm moving on Wednesday, and I know Bucky will be packed up in a box, and I don't know when he will see the light of day again.
After 4 tremendous years of college in Madison, I'm in the process of packing up the loads of crap I have accumulated, and am heading back to reality--aka the Minneapolis suburb I grew up in. In heading back to Minnesota, I start to think about how it is different from Wisconsin. While someday I am going to find the time to write a 1,000 page dissertation that details these differences, right now you are going to have to settle for a cheesy top ten list. I call it The Top 10 things I learned by Living in Wisconsin:
10. Wisconsinites know how to support their professional sports teams. I despise the Packers to the nth degree, but the Sconnie popluation truly loves them no matter how many interceptions Brett Favre throws. Most of them also like the Brewers and the Bucks too, but honestly it is the Packers that bring out the true hatred towards people like myself who like the Vikings.
9. If you want to have any Wisconsin friends, do not serve them Bud Light. My dad grew up in Missouri, so we always had Bud Light around our house. Naturally, when I came to college that is what I liked to drink, because little did I know that people in Wisconsin have lynched people who don't drink Miller products or Leinnies on a regular basis. I swear.
8. If you live in Madison, you need to become liberal. No conservatives allowed. However, if you leave Madison and the 30 square miles around it, you not only are allowed to be conservative, but people actually might like you better if you are.
7. You need to buy all of your clothing from Kohl's, your food from Copp's, and only eat Rocky Rococo pizza. You also need to bank at First Federal or the UW Credit Union.
6. Liquor stores are open on Sundays in Wisconsin. Wow. You can also buy alcohol at grocery stores and they sell Everclear. One of the worst mistakes I made when I was a freshman was not knowing what Everclear was...I had a good reason for not knowing, as they don't sell it in Minnesota. Pansies.
5. You need to call a water fountain a bubbler while living in Wisconsin. You also need to say "yet" at the end of everything--like, "It's going to rain, yet."
4. In Wisconsin if you are 18 you can drink with your parents. Better yet, if someone can make you a fake ID from New Jersey, you can drink by yourself.
3. Wisconsinites have Bucky Badger cheese curds. Oh, how I will miss them.
2. There is just a different feel here. A different attitude. I really can't explain it, but in a lot of ways it just seems like even though it is a big city, there is still a small town theme in Madison. If you talk to someone from Minnesota, they can tell you the difference...let them explain.
1. If you are willing to have only the highest level of pride for your state, and all it stands for, Wisconsin is the place for you.
So yeah. I know I should never say never, but I am 99% sure that I will never live in Wisconsin again. I will be back to Madison to visit for sure, but I know it will never be the same. I learned a lot, and the Wisconsinites generally welcomed me with open arms. My journey is done, and all that is left to do is say my goodbyes, and finish packing. For now I can only promise that I will try my best to retrieve Bucky from his box, and put him back on my nightstand as a reminder of my time here, for as cliche as this may sound, my time in Wisconsin (and college) was the best time of my life.
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