At first glance, you may not spot us, but we're there.
Southerners raised by northerners.
The dissonance created by being immersed in southern culture while simultaneously being raised by people who were born and raised in northern culture can be quite overwhelming at times. No matter how long you have lived in the south, you know that Yankee soul inside of you will forever be a part of you. There are some aspects of your everyday life no one will ever understand unless they were also brought up in the south by "damn Yankees."
1. Not habitually responding “and you?” when someone asks, “How are you?”
2. Sounding awkward when you say y’all, but feeling awkward when you don’t.
3. Not being super impressed with southern barbecue.
4. Trying to avoid people you know if you see them rather than wanting to strike up a conversation.
5. Being religious and loving Jesus, but not being all in on the Bible belt vibe.
6. Sounding northern to southerners but sounding southern to northerners.
7. Hearing about the magical wonders of Wegman’s from your mom every time you walk into a Harris Teeter.
8. Wondering where the Chick-fil-as and Cookouts are when you visit family.
9. Talking significantly louder than all of your peers on a daily basis.
10. Having a more fast-paced mindset that includes but is not limited to: walking fast, talking fast, settling/figuring out something as if the fate of Earth as we know it depends on it.
11. Being straightforward and honest to someone’s face instead of sugarcoating with few exceptions.
12. Feeling like you found a long lost friend when you meet someone who is from where your family is from.
13. Not being afraid to honk that horn if another driver, in your opinion, needs their license revoked.
14. Actually showing up to everything on time or *gasp* early.
15. Being extremely annoyed when you see a cashier taking their time talking to a customer.
16. Feeling completely comfortable with a cooler temperature while everyone else around you is bundled or in a blanket burrito.
17. Getting extremely offended when a southerner says northerners are rude.
18. Not being able to describe your burning detestation of the phrase “Bless your heart.”
19. Not understanding the craze with Camo *everything*.
20. Being looked at like snakes just grew from your head when you say, “I don’t like country music.”
21. Having no desire to ever go target shooting.
22. Feeling like a part of you is home when you cross over the Mason-Dixon.
23. Having a sports team you root for from your parents’ hometown (Go ‘Cuse!)
24. Knowing you would choose to drink cough syrup instead of sweet tea any day.
25. Not settling for any kind of sandwich meat that isn’t Boar’s Head.
26. The awkward silence that ensues when people don’t appreciate your bluntness.
27. Putting all sorts of things in the fridge such as maple syrup because when your family moved down here the following equation was in their mind: south=heat=bugs.
28. Forever not understanding southern slang (tennis shoes instead of sneakers, using the word toboggan to refer to a winter hat).
29. Regretting going to get your hair cut or teeth cleaned because your hairdresser/dentist/etc. asks for an entire autobiography of your life starting with your favorite color and ending with your social security number.
30. Feeling your eyes slightly pop out of your head when you see a car drive by with no doors. (Is that even legal?)
31. Never being as happy with the bread, pizza, sausage, or corn as you are when you go up north.
32. Preferring bagels to biscuits.
33. And then not wanting gravy on your biscuit when you do get one.
34. Chilling in bed when it’s supposed to snow while everyone else is rushing to the store to get milk and bread.
35. Thinking that grits are actually what Oliver Twist’s gruel was.
36. Being annoyed when you hear the Civil War being referred to as the “War of Northern Aggression.”
37. Feeling like you just felt your hair turn grey when someone refers to you as “ma’am.”
38. Instantly becoming uncomfortable when someone touches you.
39. Not having everything, or as a matter of fact, anything monogramed.
40. Feeling like you don’t belong in the south, but also feeling like you don't quite belong in the north either, so you just continue on with life being your fabulous, unique self.
While Southerners may not understand us and misinterpret some of the things we do, we would have never wanted to be raised by anyone else except by our "damn Yankee" parents.
