1. You used to get so excited when your parents took you for clown sundaes at Newport Creamery.
2. And now, you can't enjoy a milkshake outside of Rhode Island, because nothing's as good as an Awful Awful.
3. You think you're giving good directions when you tell someone to just go to the place "near where that gas station used to be."
4. You hung out in Dunkin' Donuts parking lots after school on a regular basis.
5. And you can't go to the beach without a Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee.
6. You hold a soft spot in your heart for Del's Frozen Lemonade.
7. You probably saw your first concert at XFinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
(And you're still annoyed that they changed the name from Great Woods, because Great Woods was so much better. #LongLiveGreatWoods!)
8. And that show was very likely Dave Matthews Band.
9. You're obsessed with coffee milk and coffee syrup.
You always had coffee milk with your lunch in elementary school.
10. You remember when they built the Providence Place Mall, and it was a really big deal.
11. And WaterFire, too.
12. You used to run errands with your parents at Job Lot.
13. You can't believe that Buddy Cianci died this year, or that he was actually our mayor for all those years.
He may have gone to jail — multiple times — and he may have been the king of corruption — multiple times — but damn. He sure gave Rhode Island character.
14. You are a proud owner of multiple Alex & Ani bracelets.
15. You were mad at Taylor Swift when she bought a beach house in Watch Hill.
16. You have a weird relationship with clam chowder, because you feel like you should order it clear (Rhode Island pride, yo), but you (not so secretly) prefer the creamy kind.
17. You've eaten clam cakes and giant lobster rolls at Blount Clam Shack.
18. Your parents used to take you to Rocky Point.
19. Most of your July 4th memories are of either sweating through the parade in Bristol or trying to find a way out of going with your family.
It's cool that it's the oldest 4th of July parade in America and all, but seriously, IT'S WAY TOO HOT TO BE FUN.
20. You probably went on a school field trip to the mansions, particularly The Breakers, in Newport.
And then you went on the Cliff Walk.
21. You were so excited when you got your license, because that meant you could finally drive to Providence by yourself.
22. You're kind of a beach snob.
And by kind of, I mean very. How can you not be with beautiful beaches like Block Island, Goosewing, and Newport right at your disposal?
23. You also know that Rhode Island summers are the best summers.
24. You've got major 401 pride.
25. And you know that, above all else, you grew up in one of the most beautiful and incredibly quirky states in the country.
And you wouldn't have it any other way.
CORRECTION
Rhode Island only has one area code. An earlier version of this post misstated it only has one zip code.