Growing up in southwestern Pennsylvania, my experience with the South, let alone the Deep South, consisted of going to the beach for a week. After moving to Georgia, which is the epitome of the Deep South, I've realized that the South has its own rich history that the people will defend tooth, nail and rifle. There are plenty of differences that make the South unique and, at times, intimidating if you're unsure of how to act or what to say in a certain situation.
First of all, it's hot. And when I say hot, I mean I'd be comfortable in Hell after living here. Last July when we arrived in Georgia, it was 103 degrees with 100 percent humidity for an entire week. It feels like walking into an oven with a wall of heat hitting you when you venture outdoors. When the weather forecast says the high is 89 degrees, it's actually going to feel like 99 degrees. At least in the North, the wind chill just meant I'd bring a jacket. There's nothing I can do when it's going to be 10 degrees hotter than the forecast because of the heat index. The humidity is ridiculous -- and terrible for everyone's hair. I've never seen so many blowouts in my life. That seems to be every woman's coping mechanism in the hopes that their hair will look presentable. Don't even attempt to put on foundation because you'll sweat it off so fast you'll wonder why you even bothered.
We could all take a note out of the Deep South's book and refer to superiors and adults as ma'am or sir. It's not uncommon to go to a restaurant and have the waiter and the people eating refer to each other as sir or ma'am. Students from preschool to high school refer to their teachers in that manner and are expected to do so. The schools are separated by county, not school district, which resulted in me wondering why there are two AAAAAA high schools within three miles of my house. I've honestly never seen more schools in my life until I moved down here. The North should take note that Georgia offers scholarships to all graduating seniors that meet certain requirements, and college is affordable. Not only is it cheaper, but with the scholarships awarded, students go to college for almost nothing.
One of the slightly scary or intimidating parts of the Deep South is the Northern prejudice that exists. Being called a Yankee is something that actually happens in real life, not just movies. People will actually tell you, "The South will rise again." Don't bother reminding them that the North won the Civil War. I've also learned that when you hear loud noises outside of your window it's equally likely that they were fireworks or gunshots, both of which are legal. So good luck figuring out which it was. You'll get to see more Trump signs than you probably ever wanted to, and people have a tendency to put them in very strange places, such as hanging from a traffic light or telephone wire. Clearly, putting them up in yards and on the side of the road isn't effective enough.
So far, I've realized that the Deep South has a strong history that they will protect with everything they have. The eighth grade history curriculum is, "The History of Georgia," where they spent as much time on the Civil War as they did on the peach industry. They love their guns, churches, and traditions. However, people are still people regardless of where they live. They still wake up and put their socks on one at a time. The fact that America stands with so many differences shows the strength that this country really has.