"Jersey Girl", Defined

Our new proofreader has taken to referring to me as “Jersey” in the office, and that is fine by me. And at most parties that I attend, there is always a Bon Jovi song played, with shouts of “Jersey, Jersey” and fingers pointing at me. Granted, I truly am a novelty with our wonderful friends, most of who are born and bred Ohioans, so my status as an East Coaster is distinctive.

It is interesting how the place where we grow up can define the type of person that we become. I lived in New Jersey (the Garden State) from the ages of 6 to 18, and then all the summers that I was home from college. So, certainly the formative years are covered, and I can safely tell people that I am a “Jersey Girl.” Don’t look up that term on urban dictionary, which I did take a peek at for reference. Most of the definitions use some coarse language, but there is an element that resonated with me — that a Jersey Girl can hold her own anywhere that she might be.

By default of New Jersey’s location on the map, a child growing up in this great state is exposed to a number of environments. Field trips to Manhattan are commonplace, and I felt comfortable going to the N.Y.C. Symphony, Broadway productions, the N.Y.C. Ballet, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc. I also was lucky enough to experience the best of Philadelphia — the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the wonderful neighborhoods and the cheese steaks. And then there is all that New Jersey offers, especially in natural beauty such as the shore and hikes through the Delaware Water Gap. Basically, put me at a black tie party, an art museum, on a rugged hiking path, or at a backyard cookout, and I will be just fine.

I have some thoughts about my experiences as a Jersey Girl, listed below in no particular order.

1. The cast of the “Jersey Shore” does not reflect people from N.J. at all. And most of the cast is not even from there. Seaside Heights, N.J., is where it is filmed, which is the one town my parents forbade me to visit as a teenager. The boardwalk is seedy, and a number of carnival workers live nearby.
2. That being said, the “guido” and “guidette” phenomenon does exist. I am not sure how or why, but there are quite a few Vinnies and Ninas, all rocking their favorite attire around N.J. My life lesson about that is to never trust a guy who drives or has driven a Camaro or Iroc-Z, especially if they are wearing yellow sweatpants, but that is a story for another time.
3. The cast of the Sopranos DOES reflect N.J. residents fairly well. The opening of every episode where Tony drives out of the industrial Newark/Camden area into the layers of the suburbs is very real. And we did know families in “sanitation” that were astoundingly wealthy.
4. There is an energy on the East Coast that I embrace and miss. I can sense it from Baltimore to Boston and anywhere in between. Something that is hard to describe, but is kind of like electricity in the air.
5. I adore the look on my husband’s face (all-Ohio boy) when a waitress at a N.J. diner asks if he wants more coffee. He truly cannot understand what she is asking him, and I have to translate.
6. I really miss diners. How can the Midwest not know the pleasure of being able to order anything that you want from a 30-page, laminated menu at any time of the day? And how have pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches not been picked up yet?
7. I also miss excellent ethnic food, be it Italian, Ethiopian, Spanish, etc.
8. I don’t have any traceable N.J. accent except when I am reunited with my best friends from high school. The accent lives, but just in the right environment.
9. The Jersey shore is truly beautiful, and I cannot wait to take our children there regularly.
10.  People in N.J. are not nice or friendly to new people. And I am probably too nice, open and empathetic to blend in well there now.
11. New Jerseyians are much better drivers that the average Ohio resident. Why does one need to come to a complete stop to change lanes or turn? I just might look for volunteers from N.J. to come teach at the Ohio D.M.V.
12.  Mo Rocha is one of my favorite commentators, and he covers all the rest that I could say in this well-done episode. Enjoy.