1. You will never live the Minnesotan accent down.
You betcha, your winter and summer breaks will be filled with endless comments and critiques on your nearly perfect, rounded “O’s”. Gone are the days of “oh, really” sounding like a normal phrase, but who cares? Own your next “OH, GEEZ!” with pride!
2. The statement “I go to school in Minnesota” will almost always be followed with the question, “Why?”
Well, why not? Sure, you will be trudging to class in over a foot of snow with below-freezing temperatures, but it’s worth it! Have you ever experienced a Minnesotan summer? Greenery for miles and a warm breeze enveloping you are definitely worth the chilly winter months. Plus, you’ll never take 40° weather for granted again because here in Minne-snow-ta, 40° means it’s sandal season.
3. Minneapolis and St. Paul will forever be referred to as “The Cities”.
You’ll have to resort back to the mouthful that is “Minneapolis and St. Paul” for friends back home, but at least you’ll fit in on campus with all of the Minnesota natives (and feel super trendy doing it!).
4. Your home sports teams will no longer be relevant.
Unless you’re talking about the Minnesota Wild, Twins, or Vikings, what you’re saying doesn’t matter. Rocking your Jonathan Toews Blackhawks jersey? You’ll just be reminded of the devastating loss they suffered to the Wild at TCF in February. You’re rooting for the Packers? The conversation will shortly migrate to a discussion about the Viking’s new stadium. In other words, you can’t win (even if your home team does).
5. If you’ve never been to Valleyfair, you’re about to hear about it.
Apparently it’s like a Six Flags amusement park? I’ve only heard stories but it seems to be a pretty big thing. Your Minnesotan friends will suggest you attend during the summer or during ValleySCARE season because yay! Rollercoasters! (However, you may be able to get yourself out of this one if you’re terrified of heights like me).
6. Odds are, at least one person will mention the movie or TV show Fargo when you mention that your school is in Minnesota.
THAT’S NOT EVEN MINNESOTA. IT’S NORTH DAKOTA. Anyway, here you will be bombarded with stereotypes surrounding life in Minnesota (which, in this case, is actually North Dakota), but hey! Don’tcha knooow, there are definitely worse things than adapting to “Minnesota nice”.
7. Speaking of which, “Minnesota nice” is a real thing.
Get used to other people opening doors for you, apologizing for unnecessary things, and inviting you to dinner to enjoy some hot dish together. Well, the last one may not happen THAT often, but Minnesotans sure do like their hot dish. However, in contrast to “Minnesota nice” you will also experience “Minnesota passive aggressive” which will become entirely evident while driving (especially if you have out-of-state plates, like me).
8. The notorious “Soda vs. Pop” debate and don’t forget, “Duck, duck, grey duck”.
I call it soda. Here, it’s pop. Use of “soda” to reference any sugary, carbonated beverage is apparently unacceptable and your word choice will be corrected to “pop” by any Minnesotan. Worse than this, the childhood game “Duck, duck, goose” is known here as “duck, duck, grey duck” and it’s a very serious matter. Call it “duck, duck, goose” and you will most definitely be the grey duck in this situation—have fun running some laps.
9. Caribou Coffee will hold a special place in your heart (and Starbucks will start to disappoint you).
After all, coffee is so much better when it can be ordered as small, medium, or large, instead of “fancy small”, “what is the Starbucks term for medium again?” and “I just really want whatever you call that large drink”. Plus, there is no competition when it comes to drink quality. A Hot Apple Blast from Caribou will always top a Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks—no questions asked.
10. Hockey matters, even if it’s not professional.
The NHL isn’t the only league of importance up north. Did you know that they televise the high school hockey championship here? Well, they do. Hockey wasn’t even counted as an actual sport at my high school—it was a club. Hockey is bigger and better up north (except the NHL—I still love my Chicago Blackhawks).
11. All stereotypes aside, you absolutely love attending school in Minnesota and can’t imagine yourself anywhere else.
Whether you’re at Gustavus or any other school in the state, you’ve grown to love your Minnesotan home away from home. The snowy winter months will leave you questioning your decision to apply to school anywhere that isn’t Hawaii, but college just wouldn’t be the same without the January blizzards. After all, if you can handle the Minnesotan weather and passive aggressive drivers, you can handle anything.