I will never forget my first day of tenth grade at Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield, MA. My classmates had received word that I was a school choice student from Lynn.

"So, do you hear, like, gunshots every night before you go to bed?", one student asked me. "Absolutely not!", was my reply. "That's just a myth about Lynn". I mean, Lynn was a violent city, but certainly not every night!

Myths can be annoying, but also fun to discuss.

10 MYTHS ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS THAT ARE SIMPLY UNTRUE

EVERY MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT IS A RED SOX FAN

Wrong. I mean, most of us are; however, Massholes like The Yankees as well, they just might not tell anyone. It's more often than not that NYY fans more or less live in the Western part of the state. I never felt that The Yankees "suck". Even as a lifelong Sox fan, I loved Jeter and Sheffield.

WE LOVE A GOOD ROTARY, OR ROUNDABOUT

Let me preface by saying Massachusetts does have more rotaries than any other New England state or U.S. state for that matter, but we certainly don't feel any certain way about them. Pittsfield even removed theirs in Park Square more than a decade ago.

WE ARE OBSESSED WITH MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK

The Cambridge brothers burst on the scene in 1997 with "Good Will Hunting" and Boston, MA was proud! Personally, I love these two guys; however, even Affleck knows he's made some really crappy movies...but, "The Town" makes up for all of that! Plenty of Mass. residents are not madly in love with these two, however.

MA RESIDENTS ONLY DRINK DUNKIN'

Dunkin' Donuts did start in Canton, MA back in the '50s, and the Dunkin line is usually into the street disrupting traffic; however, Starbucks is pretty popular as well. The Dunkin' SNL skit starring Casey Affleck a few years back was amazing, and yes EVERYONE loved it, that part is not a myth.

WE ALL TALK WITH A BOSTON ACCENT

What is this a photo of? Faneuil Hall? Right near Quincy MAH-KET? North Shore people definitely have a wicked Boston accent, South Shore people may be worse, but the state as a whole does not collectively drop their "r's" at all times. In fact, I hear no one west of Worcester talking like JFK used to.

MASS. ONLY ELECTS DEMOCRATS

Nope. Pictured above is Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren; however since 1991, Massachusetts has elected five Republican Governors. Remember Bill Weld? Paul Cellucci? Jane Swift? Mitt Romney? and of course, CHAH-LIE BAKE-AH! All GOPers.

WESTERN MASS. LOVES LEAF PEEPERS

No. We hate you, get out. Kidding, enjoy. 😂

WINTER IN THE BERKSHIRES IS WAY WORSE THAN ANY OTHER PART OF THE STATE

I love this one. When I first moved here in September of 2010, this is all heard about. "Are ya ready for a Berkshire winter?" I mean, the eastern part of the state gets hit just as badly with snow and ice. Just. As. Bad.

YOU WON'T HIT TRAFFIC HEADING TO THE CAPE IF YOU LEAVE AT 2 A.M.

Wrong. You will always hit traffic heading to Cape Cod. Always. Even if you leave in the middle of a freezing cold night in January, you'll hit traffic on Rte. 3.

NOBODY FAMOUS COMES FROM LYNN

This is our last myth and is obviously a joke. I was born in Lynn, and I will never the end of it. Besides the infamous poem, "Lynn, Lynn, City of Sin", singer Mike Ness (Social Distortion), and pro baseball player Ken Hill come from Lynn!