I am a ColoTexan

State pride is a thing in the United States, and every state has a term for their residents. Yes, Wikipedia actually provides a list of demonyms. Some people might consider this an unhealthy form of nationalism, but I find it mostly endearing as long as it doesn’t enable some people to think they’re better than others.

But I think I’m a hybrid. Last year on Twitter, I posted:

My family moved cross country between Texas and Colorado three times while I was growing up, so I spent equal time between the two of them. Every time I cross the state line back into Texas, I sing the state anthem “Texas our Texas,” which confuses and amuses my friends. Yes, it’s cheesy and a little obnoxious, I know, but this is /me/ and my birthplace we’re talking about.

Apparently citizens of my hometown are called Beaumonters, according to the Beaumont Enterprise. So I guess I must be one of those, too. Especially since I moved back here this year.

But I also love Colorado.

My Facebook memories feature reminded me that ten years ago today, we moved to Colorado Springs.

I’m proud to be an #UCCS2015 alum, and Pikes Peak is a really amazing mountain, and I love the Western Slope and all its ruggedness. in Colorado, I learned hiking and I joined a club on campus that taught me first aid and wilderness survival. I watched my city burn during the Black Forest and Waldo Canyon wildfires.

Last spring, I told a friend that I felt like I had two homes. She laughed and said, “You just now figured this out?”

I am both. I needed both places. I should probably be wearing this pin.

So I get really excited when I find articles that connect Beaumont and Colorado Springs. Here’s a few of my favorites:

1. Did you know there was a Colorado-Texas Tomato War throughout the 90s?  Wikipedia explains that “the event, held in September, pitted hundreds of Coloradans and Texans throwing ripe tomatoes at one another, as Coloradans attempted (and generally succeeded) in overrunning an “Alamo” built of straw bales and defended by the outnumbered Texans.” I wish they’d host this again, because I’d totally participate.
2. Forbes listed Beaumont as the least educated city in the United States in 2014. Colorado Springs was the eighth most educated. Since the Beaumont school district ranks low in standardized testing and the BISD is known to have fabricated test results, many families are opting to homeschool, hoping that their children will receive a better education.
3. Scientists estimate that by 2100, the climate of Colorado Springs may be more like Beaumont, according to a Gazette article from July 2014. “By the start of the next century, summers in Colorado Springs will feel more like Beaumont, Texas, with an increase of roughly 10 degrees, or on average daily temperature of 91 degrees, according to the interactive. The interactive doesn’t include humidity, so you will have to imagine how it would feel with it. I’ve never been to Beaumont and have no plans to visit, but that’s hot.” My friend Camilla said she thought of me when she read this article.
4. The guy who wrote this article “Don’t Mess with Colorado” understands what it means to be a ColoTexan. “I vote in Texas, and I carry a Texas driver’s license. But I was born in Colorado and grew up there. Texas is just where I happen to live. Colorado is home. I like to say I hold dual citizenship.”
5. Norwegians now use Texas as “a synonym for crazy, bonkers, out of control and wild. As in, that’s totally texas,” as reported by Alternet.

I’ll leave y’all with some more Texas-related humor.

Bonus round: