I grew up in the same house. I came home from the hospital to the same house my parents live in now. Until I went away from college, I’d never lived anywhere other than my hometown. I always imagined I’d return there to marry and have kids once I graduated. God had other plans in store for me.
I married a submariner in the US Navy, and I followed him around the country as he served his country. We met in Charleston, South Carolina. Our first duty station was Kingsland, Georgia and from there we moved to Silverdale, Washington. From Washington we moved back to Charleston, South Carolina, which is where we finished out his time in the Navy. Now we live in Augusta, Georgia.
No matter where I’ve lived, I’ve always been a Southern girl at heart. I have roots so deep in the Southern culture that they’ve just carried with me wherever I go.
I know people from other parts of the country don’t get it. They don’t understand the copious amounts of makeup. The hairbows or headbands. They don’t get why we have to monogram anything and everything. Maybe they don’t understand our predilection towards eating grits or having two first names.
That’s ok. I’m by no means putting down other parts of the country. Californians have pride just like Floridians have pride. If you love where you live or where you came from, you think your state is the best. I get it.
But I’ll always think girls from the South have a little edge.
Reasons I Love Being From The South
- Your belongings will never be stolen because they are all monogrammed.
- “Bless your heart” is as insulting as it gets.
- At a church potluck you can be sure you will be served two things: poppyseed chicken casserole and fried chicken.
- SEC football is sacred. Mark off every Saturday during the fall because you’ll either spend it in the stadium or in front of your television.
- You have visited at least one of the following: Charleston, Savannah, Ashville, St. Augustine, or Nashville.
- If you’re from South Carolina, you have some sort of palm tree decoration (or an actual palm tree!) in your home.
- Pearls are still a girl’s best accessory.
- You’ve seen Steel Magnolias or Gone With The Wind at least once, and can quote passages from each.
- Flip flops are worn year round – and your “good” flip flops are monogrammed Jack Rogers.
- When you don’t know who someone is (which is rare) you can ask your mother, and she will reply “That’s Mavis’s son! You know – the one who married Sally? They had a girl a few years younger than you. Her name was Lissie.”
Southern girls – what other things can you come up with?
18 comments:
I'm not a Southeren girl, but I did live in SC for a while.
11. You know how to make cornbread the correct way, in a skillet.
12. You know the correct way to brew a real sweet tea.
Those are two things that will stay with me the rest of my life. Nothing is as good as Southern cornbread and sweet tea. Yum!
All of these are SO true! Except I am still committing one crime... I have yet to see Gone with the Wind! I know... this is ridiculous! I should plan to watch it soon lol
I'm not a southern gal but this post is too cute :)
I'm not a Southern gal but believe I should've been!!!! I have a dream to move down there one of these days, perhaps Savannah :)
P.S. I make my cornbread in a skillet, can't have it any other way!
Oh, I'm a Southern girl born and bred too and wouldn't have it any other way.
In Southern towns there are more churches than anything else.
You've shopped in a Winn Dixie or a Piggly Wiggly.
You've most likely gone to a Mardi Gras parade.
You've had a drink served to you in a mason jar.
I could go on, but I'll save some for someone else ;)
I love me some Poppyseed Chicken Casserole!
You know I'm probably only considered partially southern being in VA but I'm going with TEA. Always sweet. NO questions.
Ugh and none of that passion fruit, raspberry, etc. flavored ones restaurants tried to serve us when we lived in DC. ICK.
I'm an SC girl and this is sooo true! I copied this, but credited it back to your blog. Hope you dont mind. Keep up the good work!
Betsey
( tell me that's not a southern name)
I absolutely love this list.
I'm not Southern by any means (Caribbean girl here) but I want to be. We currently live in MD and are thinking of relocation...Georgia is one of the places we both want to live in.
You make me so jealous for not being a Southern girl!!!
Quick, find me a nice southern gentleman to marry so I can relocate. :-)
This is so cute! I'm obviously not from the South but I always love hearing about how people from different parts of the country live
Such a cute list! I'm from Kentucky & I love being a southern girl!
Great list, Andrea! The only thing I would change is instead of JR's, I would say monogrammed Stephen Bonnanos, handcrafted in Stuart, FL! :)
I too love sweet tea :)
Who has only seen those two movies once? I could watch each of them weekly! I just told my baby that I love him more than my luggage before reading this post. :)
I am not from the South but, I have been to Savannah, Ashville, and Nashville. My husband's father and grandparents live in North Carolina and we spend every Christmas there, so I have been to Ashville a lot. We go see the Ginger Bread Houses every year at the Grove Park Inn.
(Revised my first comment.) I love your list! It's all true!
Here's what I'd include on my list:
1. You've probably known at least one debutante, and possibly attended a debutante ball.
2. You know how to brew tea in the sun.
3. In more rural regions of your state, you might find people who refer to locations by counties rather than by city name.
4. You find yourself saying "Folks" every so often. Your northerner friends think it sounds "quaint" but you think it sounds normal.
5. Your mom has given you a nickname that's a food or food additive. "Sugar", "Puddin", "cupcake", "honeypie", etc.
6. You or people in your family frequently, if not exclusively, cut the letter G off of words, i.e, working, cooking, going. Including the word "Darling."
7. You know at least one person who bought a F-150 truck or larger because "it's more practical." Meaning, they can use it on their land, not gas economy.
8. You have at least one older woman you know that you'd consider a "true Southern Belle" and apply the word "Genteel" to her character. Said woman probably still curls her hair and applies makeup before leaving the house at 89 years old, and insists on wearing gloves to all major religious and community gatherings.
Love this! All those things make me miss being back home in the South!
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