One of the literary world’s most famed authors and Mississippi native, William Faulkner, once said, “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” If you ask me, truer words have never been spoken. We Mississippians are best known for our hospitality, the heart-stopping food, humidity, and southern charm. But all that charm can’t make up for the qualities people often stereotype all of us with, ignorance, close-mindedness, stubbornness, and sometimes downright ridiculousness. Faulkner’s colorful characters and his fictional county, Yoknapatawhpha County, accurately illustrate all these things, including a southerner’s strong ties to home and a desire to get a fresh start somewhere else. Sound familiar?

Growing up here in the ‘Sip is one of the only ways to fully get to know this convoluted state. More often than not younger generations want to get the h*** out of here, myself included. Even after growing up in the state’s capital city, I can’t deny this growing itch to get out of here, escape that small-town feeling and the refusal to continue to move forward. It’s strange really, wanting to leave but feeling so attached to this place you call home. Maybe that’s just me, though. There may be some people who were raised here and hated every second of it.

Perhaps some of us feel ashamed to say we’re from Mississippi when asked by others because of the negative connotation it tends to have. I know I’ve felt a tinge of that before, especially when I’ve been overseas. When you get far enough away and come across people with the wrong ideas, you get asked things like, “Do you guys wear shoes?” If you have a thick accent, they may ask you to repeat what you just said so they can hear it again. Things like that make you realize how inaccurate the world’s picture of us folks down south is. We do wear shoes, we don’t walk around with a piece of hay hanging out of our mouths, we don’t all wear overalls, and we don’t all have an IQ of 90.

The truth is, there’s no reason to be ashamed of being from Mississippi; sure we’ve had our rough moments but there is no state like this one. It molds us into interesting people and has produced some important historical figures. They don’t call us the birthplace of America’s music for no reason. Blues legends like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, and many others are all natives to this state. Their music inspired thousands of musicians and helped produce rock music. You can’t forget the King himself, Elvis, or a breed of his own and USM alum, Jimmy Buffett and his harmonica player, Fingers Taylor.

We’re also known for giving the sports world some of its most well-known players like Walter Payton, Brett Favre, the Manning family, and many others. It’s no wonder football season is such a big deal down here; come August, it’s all anybody can talk about.

Mississippi's lengthy list of artists, authors, and other personalities is quite impressive. Among those names are Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Walter Anderson, Wyatt Waters, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts, and many others. Google search these things sometimes, it may surprise you what a heritage our state has.

With a legacy like that, how can we be so ashamed to be from this state? No, we don’t have ties to today’s famous celebrities. Sure, we do things backward, are several years, maybe decades, behind every other state, and are more hesitant to expand our horizons to catch up with the rest of the country. But we do what we do. We’ve overcome some tough times in the past, things that almost tore the country and our state in two. Where we are now is a testament to how resilient southerners are; you can tear us down but we’ll come back just as strong or stronger than before. It’s how we’re taught. Shoot, the ‘Sip’s seemingly permanent stuck-in-the past- state says a lot about how badly we handle change. Not to mention, it shows how stubborn we can be. There’s that good ole’ Southern tradition coming to bite us in the butt.

People from other states, like New York, have moved to Mississippi small towns, too. Crazy, right? They described it as stepping back into the past, feeling the instant slowness of life here compared to the fast pace of city life. But they point out the unexpected kindness shown by neighbors. All of the things that make this state seem like a lifeless black hole are part of what make it so enchanting; it’s truly a different place. People still stop to help one another on the side of the road, we play outside as kids, family comes first, manners are always expected, we respect our elders, and we don’t mind a little conversation with strangers.

I say all that to say don’t be ashamed to be from Mississippi; love your roots. We have a lot more going for us than most realize. Plus, there’s not a thing wrong with being from this state. You, yes, you, have the power to show everyone you meet wherever you go that we’re not all backwater hillbillies. Being from Mississippi means you understand what it’s like to live in a place so deeply attached to a different time. You know the beauty of tons of pine trees under a blue sky on a perfectly warm day. Guys will know how to charm just about every girl they meet. Girls will know exactly how a guy should treat them. You’ll know what it's like to feel behind and isolated in your own state. If you’re forward thinking, you’ll understand the frustration we all feel with our elders for not seeing that change is OK. It may take us a century, but we'll catch up eventually.

I love my Mississippi roots, good and bad. You should, too. We know the beauty and peace of a warm summer night as cicadas chirp away and fireflies dot the sky. We know the slowness and suffocating heat of the summertime and the weirdness of the weather patterns. We understand the discomfort of talking religion or politics with elders. We're raised to be strong and remember our roots, our families. Our history is as thick as the trees. We understand the complicatedness of human nature.

In the end, the negative things about this state don't matter so much. We're all rooted here, just like the trees and the cotton plants and those roots run deep. The 'Sip is home, it always will be. I know I'll miss it if I move away but I know it will always welcome me back.