Growing up, I never thought about how different the culture, environment, and people could be outside of my small town. After moving away and going to New York for college, I have picked up and have been pointed out several things that make me different from the majority of my peers in college, all because of where I grew up (hellloooo accent). As a made friends and got to know where everyone came from, I realized how different my home state was compared to those in the Northeast. Here are a few key ingredients I have discovered that make you a true Missourian:
1. You have an accent and you may not know it. I will never forget how embarrassed I was when someone pointed out the difference in pronunciation between the words “tin” and “ten.” And even now, almost two years since I have moved away, there are still people that say “you kind of have an accent, where are you from?” when I first meet them.
2. You probably went to a small school. Apparently going to school with 1500+ kids is the norm? Shoutout to FHS Class of 2014 with less than 80 graduates.
3. Your preferred swimming spots are lakes and creeks. Being in the middle of the country makes a casual day trip to the beach impossible. Your summers were probably filled with tanning on the creek bank or lake days on the boat with your family and friends.
4. You eat ranch dressing with everything. There’s a reason it’s called “the ketchup of the midwest.” And most people don’t dip their pizza in ranch contrary to popular, Missourian belief.
5. You either drove or rode in a lifted truck frequently. And let's not start on the whole "Ford vs. Chevy" debate. Driving a truck that is twice as tall as you, that you can hear coming from five miles away is not cool in most places, but it is in the MO.
6. You have a love/hate relationship with your NFL team. Whether you are a Chiefs or a Rams fan, you haven’t seen your team in the Superbowl in almost 15+ years. Despite this, your faith and loyalty remain strong through the countless disappointing seasons.
7. Your MLB team makes up for it. Between the Cards and the Royals, Missouri teams have dominated the World Series with one of the two teams making it to half of the World Series in the past ten years.
8. You have very strong feelings about Mizzou or KU. This is one of the biggest rivalries in college sports. Whether you are a rock, chalk, Jayhawk fan or rep the black and gold, there’s a good chance you hate the other team as much as you love your own.
9. You are prepared for any weather at any time of day. It is not unheard of to start your day off with a coat on and end it sweating your ass off outside by noon, not to mention the casual tornado warning to go along with it. We have the cursed blessing of experiencing some of the coldest winters and hottest summers with every season mixing into one another. In Missouri, mother nature’s always drunk.
10. You are the only people who realize other places besides Kansas City and St. Louis exist in the state. I promise you don’t know what part of Missouri I am from, so don’t bother asking.
