When you have a southern heart, but don’t live in a southern state, it can be quite difficult to fully express yourself. It is hard to use the sayings “hey ya’ll' or "yes mamn or I reckon” without getting a couple of confusing looks. It can be frustrating to have only one radio station play country music when driving down those long roads attempting to express how life is a highway for you!

Some of my family lives in the north and some in the south. I have grown to love the southern ways of living, cooking, and decorations. I am obsessed with lace in all it shapes and forms. I will attempt to use a mason jar for numerous purposes besides drinking sweet ice tea. I certainly try to have biscuits and gravy a time or two. I will listen to country music any chance I can get, I attempt to be sweet, and I love all things wood. I know it may seem odd, but my family down the south can surely relate! My heart truly glows when I express southern attributes throughout my day to day.

I do the best I can do being a girl with a southern heart in a northern state. I attempt to find any gentlemen or cowboy I can find looking lost for Billy Currington’s peaches. I find that people who are from the south tend to express manners more. They are more willing to let you in front of them, rather than cut you off in order to get where they are going. The love for sports just seems 10 times more exciting even if it is NASCAR. I binge on shows like Southern Charm or The Chrisley’s Know Best to fulfill my longing for southern culture in my own home. I would be lying if I said I don’t attempt use a southern accent or that it comes out sometimes. I think the voice in my head has one, and it just comes out sometimes! The accent is just too amazing not to hear or at least attempt to speak with on a daily basis!

I used to be embarrassed to show off my southern style! I was nervous to get the looks or even the questions. I can’t move to the south, but one day I hope to. A big yard, a wide porch, and a white picket fence does not seem bad to me. I have learned to not to be ashamed of my deep down southern values. People actually find it endearing, and I tend to receive compliments on my lace items.

I think everyone could value to have a little southern touch in their lives. It is nice to have a warm, comfy home, to go outside enjoying mother nature, being tan, being polite, and enjoying southern cookin'! It is a culture that may be made fun of, but it is one that surely puts a smile on my face.

I just happen to be a southern belle in a northern state, and I am not afraid to admit it!