One Lost Loon

Some Benefits May 8, 2010

I am in Iowa.

But I will be returning to Minnesota in just over three weeks, and needless to say, I can’t wait. I miss Minnesota and my hometown of Minneapolis so much.

But after my final exams are finished on Friday, I will be making a short two-week trip to Malaysia. I can’t wait to get out of the country and experience a new culture and warm tropical climate. Then after that, I return home.

I say all this because I have been musing about these different places and wondering what makes them each unique.

And over the past few days I saw something on the Star Tribune and other sites that caught my eye.

Minnesota has snow.

Yes it might be mid-May, but that has never stopped Mother Minnesota from showing the country why she is the coldest and perhaps most unpredictable state in the union. Snow in May is certainly not unheard of, but after living in Iowa for the past two years I was actually surprised to hear it. Perhaps this mild Iowa weather has affected my expectations of what Spring should feel like.

And somewhere in that jumbled rambling mess of text lies my point. There are benefits to living anywhere. Iowa is mild, Malaysia is hot, and Minnesota can be anything depending on which way the wind is blowing.

It all comes down to what you want in life. And although I am a Minnesotan for life, I think I’ll take the warmer temperatures of Iowa and Malaysia over mid-May snowstorms. Sure it’s still Iowa, but at least there are some benefits.