NAPERVILLE!! 5 Days and Counting... Dreams DO Come True: Part 1

Weeeeee!!!! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd FINALLY get to visit my dream suburb!!!! I've been dreaming of this day for at LEAST six years... I mean, who would have thought it would take THIS long to get out to Naperville? Not me, that's for sure. Thankfully, with the holidays quickly approaching, I finally convinced at LEAST one of my friends to venture out to my dream suburb with me this upcoming weekend, just to get an idea of how Naperville does the holidays (or something like that).

Sigh, don't you just love the holidays? You can spin like ANYTHING to tie back to the merriment of the season, if you tried really hard. But I digress.

In any event! There's still so much to DO to prepare for this momentous occasion! I wonder what kind of holiday festivities Naperville has? I wonder how cute that downtown ACTUALLY is? I wonder... holy mother, what should I WEAR?? I mean, I don't want to be underdressed in like jeans and a fleece but... well, I don't know, is a cocktail dress too much for Naperville?

Ha. Please. WHAT was I thinking? NOTHING can ever be too much for The Dream Suburb.

Okay. I need to take a few deep breaths. (I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight...) Let's start at the beginning because, quite frankly, many people are so thoroughly confused (and think I'm joking... which I'm definitely NOT) when I start animatedly discussing 1) that I have a dream suburb to begin with, and 2) that that suburb is, of all places, Naperville, IL. (lksjflkdsf! Just typing out the NAME MAKES ME SMILE!!!)

Ahh, Naperville. Even though I've never been (yet!!), just the name of the town evokes such sunshiney thoughts in my head. My love of Naperville began at least six years ago when I was still in undergrad. While Ohio State has some students from out of state, the overwhelming majority of undergrads are from the grand home state (ah, Ohio), itself. My senior year, I ended up becoming friends with two girls who just happened to be from... where else? Naperville. Of course, I totally became an active advertiser of these two girls (who had been best friends back in Naperville as well) because, well, they just happened to be two of the nicest, smartest, most good-natured people... like, ever.

And that, my friends, is all it took for me to establish my dream suburb. Now, where in heaven's name is the connection, you ask? Well... upon realizing just how down-to-EARTH and genuine were these two girls (Millie and Emily), I of course, naturally pinpointed that I wanted my kids to grow up to be just like them.

I mean, isn't that the connection that any normal individual would draw? Duh.

But hey, it can't just be a COINCIDENCE that Naperville produced two such great people in LIFE, right?!?!? Right.

But it's not just that! Sure, my love for Naperville started way back in the day, but it has only continued to grow... exponentially, at that. Ever since I moved to Chicago, I feel like I have met SO MANY PEOPLE from Naperville. And, sure, while they are all very unique in their own right, the one common thread among them all? They are like the FRIENDLIEST (and, for the most part, smartest) PEOPLE EVER!!!! GOD, it's like the EPITOME of Midwestern charm and, well, just plain genuine HAPPINESS all in one happy dreamland of a suburb!!

Not only that, but you know how some people brush aside where they grew up because it was super boring or hickville or whatever? NEVER have I encountered such a situation with individuals from Naperville. No way. I honestly have never experienced such overwhelming PRIDE from people growing up in a suburb! From its fantastic education system (you know me and education... staunch supporter, that I am) to its adorable downtown area, people were HAPPY growing up there. Can it BE any more utopian?

Whew. Now that I've given you a little (or a lot, whatever) of background on my dream suburb, I have simply GOT to focus on next steps here to prepare for my grand Naperville debut!! First, there's the whole research component that's involved. I mean, I don't want to make my grand entrance into my dream suburb completely IGNORANT- hello!! Therefore, for the next five days, I've taken it upon myself to educate myself bit by bit about my dream suburb (whether it involves learning more about Naperville's history, Naperville's cultural goings-on or what Naperville has in store for the HOLIDAYSDlkfjsalkdfj!)... and blog about the fun facts/informational GEMS that I find along the way.

Get ready!!! Naperville: A Historical Snapshot will coming at ya tomorrow...