I lived in the Midwest for five years of my life, but if you ask my friends I’m as northern as it gets. I’m really not, but since I didn’t grow up in the south, it doesn’t matter. Even though I spent most of my life in the south, I’ll probably never be considered a Southerner. Being called a Yankee may not be my favorite, but I wouldn’t want my roots to be planted anywhere else.
1. The sports teams you like aren’t the same as your friends
No matter how many time you tell them, they still act like you killed your entire family when you tell them you like NFL over College football. It's a sin if you don't cheer for one of the rival teams in their state. You don't really care though because having one team your entire state cheers for means less family drama during the holidays.
2. When you go home they think you're a hick
You swear you don't have a southern accent, and so do your friends. But once you go back North there is a 100% chance they will make fun of you for how you pronounce your "I's". You're secretly proud that you've picked up an accent, but you won't tell anyone that.
3. Everyone makes fun of how you say things
The first time you call a carbonated drink "pop" or "soda" everyone goes ballistic. You don't really know why but everyone in the south calls it Coke, no matter if it's actually Coca-Cola or Sprite. Southerners are naturally stubborn it seems like, so they will fight with you all day about the fact that it's called Coke.
4. Your family thinks you’re weird for liking country music
Riding down backroads with the windows down and your best friend means requires nothing more than country music. It's become an acquired taste, especially since everywhere you go someone is playing it. You probably even had a teacher play it while your class was studying. To your family, country music is just plain annoying and their eyes roll back into their heads every time you turn it on.
5. The first time you see a tractor driving down the road feels like you're being initiated
6. Sometimes you feel like you live on a different planet
It's ok though because even ET made the best out of his situation. Get through those thick accents and you'll be just fine.
7. You have to ask people to say something twice because of their accent
The first time you hear someone say "naked", but pronounce it as "necked" you might think you're going deaf. Don't worry, it's not you. You have to remember that they probably don't understand half the things you say either, and maybe it's for the best.
8. You know what good sweet tea tastes like
Once you have sweet tea from the South you'll never go back, and you're totally okay with that.
9. “Home cooking” now has an entirely different meaning
I can't even explain how good southern home cooking is. You can feel yourself slowly gain five pounds by every fried food you eat, but you can just work it off later playing football in the backyard.
10. You have extremely different views than almost everyone
You're probably the most liberal person your friends have met, even if you consider yourself to be conservative. This can cause frustration when it comes to politics, but it also means you've experienced both parties and how they work.
There is nothing you would change about how your life has been because you've had a lot more experiences than most. You're probably pretty open minded because you've lived with two extremes and you don't particularly like one more than the other. To be honest, people probably think you're the most interesting person in the room, so don't let us northern-southern hybrids down.
