The Beauty of Iowa

       In class on Wednesday, we talked about all the different subcultures we are from. I noticed a lot of people mentioned how the geographic subcultures they were apart of. I never really thought about how where I come from could be a subculture that makes up who I am, but it truly does. My family lived in Iowa from when I was one until I was about five. Because I was so young I honestly don't remember much of it except for some faint memories about the houses we lived in when we were there. But because almost all of my family extended family on both my parents sides live in Iowa, there is an attachment. We all are really close and my immediate family drives to visit our relatives in Iowa quite a few times during the year. There are a lot of norms in Iowa that would seem odd to others not from the state. It's not uncommon to walk into a gas station and see a few people covered in dirt that have that have an overwhelming odor of manure coming from them. Everything is also way less fast passed. When you're checking out at a store, the cashier will have no problem telling your their life's story. Some people even have a slight country accent if you get to very rural areas in Iowa. And a lot of Iowa is rural almost everything is corn, hay, grass, and trees for miles and miles, it is the most peaceful scenery. As you pass someone coming from the opposite direction in their pick-up truck they will always wave a you and give you a nod. I'm super excited to move back to Iowa when I go to Iowa State next year. After thinking about all the things I love about Iowa, I now understand how the other students seemed so attached to where they came from and how that makes them who they are. I feel like that was part of the lesson from the subculture activity, to really think about the subcultures you are apart of and how those connect you to other people and how they make you different from others.