Growing up in Washington is a unique, truly special experience. We’ve got big cities, tiny towns, forests, lakes, mountains, orchards, fields and an incredible coastline. Of course, you don’t fully appreciate all that until you’ve grown up, and possibly even after you move away. If you were raised in Washington, you may have had some of these thoughts:
- “Will we ever get a snow day?”
Heather / Flickr Adults typically aren’t fans of large amounts of snow due to the inconvenience of it all. But school aged children and teens in Washington long for the day when it snows enough to cancel school. Depending on which part of the state you’re in, you can usually count on one or two a year, but the waiting is agony.
- “Why are my allergies so bad?”
nutmeg66 / Flickr When spring arrives in Washington, sneezes and coughs and nose-blowing can be heard across the communities. There are a lot of allergens in our air.
- “Will summer ever get here?”
Shawnee Kilgore / Flickr Our weather varies from county to county, but as children, we could all agree that summers took their sweet time to arrive.
- “Will summer ever end?”
Sean Munson / Flickr By about Labor Day weekend, everyone in Eastern and Central Washington is sick of the perpetual heat waves. As for Western Washington, they’re all getting grumpy by then because very few of them have air conditioning and they’re tired of using 15 fans to cool off.
- “Can’t the fair just last forever?”
State Fair Park Facebook Nearly every major county in Washington has a fair every fall, and for young people (and for kids at heart) it’s the greatest couple of weeks ever.
- “When I grow up, I’m going to get out of here and move to _____ .”
Bala Sivakumar / Flickr What was your plan? Seattle? Portland? New York? Alaska? Very few children want to stay in their hometowns, but most of them end up missing it after they leave.
- “WSU or UW?”
miss_usa_redneck / Flickr
clappstar / Flickr If you want to go to one of these schools, that’s a difficult choice to make considering you’ll instantly have passionate rivals either way.
- “Another nature hike?”
Abhinaba Basu / Flickr If you grew up in an active family, you probably noticed that you did a lot more outdoor activities than your friends. Nature hikes are a great way to exercise and a fun escape for adults, but for children, it can be kind of a drag.
- “Wait, we’re due for an earthquake that’s HOW big?”
Orin Zebest / Flickr Learning about that particular potential disaster for the first time is always a little jarring.
- “Actually… this place is amazing.”
Nickay3111 / Flickr There’s no place like home. It might hit you when you’re 15 or when you’re 50, but eventually you’ll realize how much you love Washington.
Tell us the funniest thoughts you had while you were growing up in Washington.
Heather / Flickr
Adults typically aren’t fans of large amounts of snow due to the inconvenience of it all. But school aged children and teens in Washington long for the day when it snows enough to cancel school. Depending on which part of the state you’re in, you can usually count on one or two a year, but the waiting is agony.
nutmeg66 / Flickr
When spring arrives in Washington, sneezes and coughs and nose-blowing can be heard across the communities. There are a lot of allergens in our air.
Shawnee Kilgore / Flickr
Our weather varies from county to county, but as children, we could all agree that summers took their sweet time to arrive.
Sean Munson / Flickr
By about Labor Day weekend, everyone in Eastern and Central Washington is sick of the perpetual heat waves. As for Western Washington, they’re all getting grumpy by then because very few of them have air conditioning and they’re tired of using 15 fans to cool off.
State Fair Park Facebook
Nearly every major county in Washington has a fair every fall, and for young people (and for kids at heart) it’s the greatest couple of weeks ever.
Bala Sivakumar / Flickr
What was your plan? Seattle? Portland? New York? Alaska? Very few children want to stay in their hometowns, but most of them end up missing it after they leave.
miss_usa_redneck / Flickr
clappstar / Flickr
If you want to go to one of these schools, that’s a difficult choice to make considering you’ll instantly have passionate rivals either way.
Abhinaba Basu / Flickr
If you grew up in an active family, you probably noticed that you did a lot more outdoor activities than your friends. Nature hikes are a great way to exercise and a fun escape for adults, but for children, it can be kind of a drag.
Orin Zebest / Flickr
Learning about that particular potential disaster for the first time is always a little jarring.
Nickay3111 / Flickr
There’s no place like home. It might hit you when you’re 15 or when you’re 50, but eventually you’ll realize how much you love Washington.
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