1. Sweet tea.

When I think of the South, the first thing that pops into my head is sweet tea. It takes a lot of sugar to make the perfect sweet tea. If you cannot taste the sweet sugar flavor then it was not sweet enough. It is even better on a hot summer day after you come in from working on the garden or mowing the lawn. Sweet tea flows through the South, just like rivers flow through mountains.

2. Fireflies.

Growing up in a small rural area, I saw millions of fireflies just from driving down the road. My sister and I would wait until night time when all the fireflies would appear like an enchanting trick. When all the fireflies were out, we would capture them and put them in a jar, which we kept by our bunk bed that night. We poked holes into the top of the lid so they would have air. In the south, we also like to call them “lightning bugs.”

3. “Y'all” is a word.

Many arguments have been started over whether “y'all” is a word or just a contraction. If you lived in the south saying “y'all” is just a habit. It sounds even better if the person has a great southern drawl.

4. Everything is fried.

If you do not like fried food then you might want to consider not going to the south. Fried Chicken, Fried country steak, fried bacon, fried shrimp, fried cheesecake. It's a buffet of just fried food, and you cant forget about Grandma's biscuits and gravy. My grandma's recipe was just off the top of her head. She would pour this and that in to the pot and perfection would come out. She did not measure because it was in her DNA on how to make the perfect gravy.

5. Southern hospitality.

Coming home from work, you cannot make it to the front door without a friendly neighbor yelling, “Hey! How you doin?” or even just a friendly wave hello. People are mostly friendly towards everyone. People open doors for strangers and say “excuse me”. The word "please” and “thank you” are very common around the rural areas of the South.

6. Back roads.

Nothing beats cruising down a back road and feeling the cool air blow against your face. Backroading is a must when living in the south. Going out by farms and seeing the majestic sun going down at night or coming up in the morning. Being on the backroads and watching the sun come up over a hill of corn fields, can take a person's breath away. It looks like a field of gold flowing through the wind. Its a beautiful sight to see.