However, that is also a lie. Whoever made the map above was either joking or was a rude a-- pessimist. Texas is not a Mexican Waiting Room. Southern Florida is not the epitome of sin and cocaine. The North is not the definition of sad and poor. And—this might come as a shocker to you, but—Indiana is not imaginary. I know because I live there. It's right there, in the red (refer to the image below), wedged between Illinois and Ohio.
We call ourselves Hoosiers.
I really don't know why, but I'm a Hoosier and I'm (kind of) proud. Here's why:
Indiana is a beautiful state. We're most known for the RFRA and all the drama that it caused; how much corn we grow; and the fact that there's a lot of people cooking meth in the vacated buildings around town. BUT we're much, much more than that.
I can only speak from the point of view of Indianapolis, IN, because that it where I reside, but it's even beautiful here in the capitol. We've got the Indianapolis Art Museum, the Indiana State Museum, the Eiteljorg Museum (based around native and western art), the Indianapolis Children's Museum, not to mention how beautiful downtown is.
But can I really consider that to be the culture of Indiana?
As a whole, Indiana is pretty conservative. Politically speaking, that is. We've got some liberals, some democrats, too, but we're mostly republicans. They're hesitant on legalizing weed, hesitant on legalize same sex marriages, and even more hesitant with helping public schools. I'm more of on the side of not caring. I just want my rights to be protected and to be promised a moderately safe place to live.
The inhabitants, like myself, of Indiana are great for hospitality, though, despite how conservative the state is. It's true what they say: #IndianaWelcomesAll. Our politicians are only there so we can get a say in laws 'n stuff, but I'm not even of age to vote.
At the same time, Indiana is a pretty boring state. I mean, we've got concerts (as does most places), art fairs, parades, a firework show downtown around New Year's—stuff like that. Not too bad but not awfully exciting, y'know.
People wise, Indiana is pretty blended. You'll find people that are very culturally different on an internal level. We've got all types of religions, political stances, ethnic backgrounds, gender (all kinds of it)—almost anything you can think of. It's very diverse, unless you go to one of those stranded cities like Hope, Indiana. That city is about the size of three blocks. If even that.
Fun Fact: Pre-colonial Indiana was a swamp.
Indiana isn't the most exciting place on Earth, let alone the United States. However, it is a good place if you don't mind people watching and/or looking at art or landscape. And even though there's not much to do here, I don't think I'll ever actually leave. I've got a bad case of wanderlust, but I'm a Hoosier at heart.