Growing up in the South is something that stays with you your whole life. Every person I have ever talked to has extreme feelings about living in the South, love or hate.
I live in South Carolina, there are many reasons to hate it. When I moved to South Carolina, I absolutely hated it. There is extreme humidity, racism, country music, and the Bible Belt if you are not religious. Although the South has bad things, like any other place, there also many more things that make the South, especially South Carolina, a place to love.
The two things that many people find odd about the South are, sweet tea and monograms. When living in South Carolina, I have learned to love tea that it is filled with sugar. In most places, tea is either unsweet or hot with cream and sugar. Here in the South, there is nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold cup of sweet tea. Although it may be extremely unhealthy, it is also extremely refreshing. Monograms seem odd to people not from down here. Here it is common for girls to have everything monogrammed. I have shirts monogrammed, a hair brush monogrammed, bags monogrammed, jewelry monogrammed; if you think it, I either have it monogrammed or want it monogrammed. It may just be my initials, but I find it gosh darn cute to have my initials in cursive on everything.
Things that are not odd, but instead are awesome, are, football, the use of "y'all," and going out of the way to be polite. When in the South, football, especially college football, is the best sport ever created and a definitely the past time. Football is loved by all, and everyone has a team. In South Carolina, you are either a University of South Carolina or Clemson fan. This rivalry is so strong it can make people hate each other. "Y'all" is a word used regularly. It is the conjunction of "you" and "all." No matter what anyone says, it is, and forever will be a word. One of my favorite things about living here is all the polite people you will meet. When you are around anybody, especially your elders, "yes and no ma'am," "yes and no sir," and "thank you" are used all of the time. Making eye contact in public happens, but it is always done with a smile. While being in public, strangers will talk to you; they usually do not need anything -- they are usually making small talk, which is a great and normal thing here.
Although the South may be seen as a terrible place all over, I love living here. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend it.
