The south is known for all kinds of things, and not all of them are so lovely. But I tend to be a real fan of the south, and for several good reasons. While the South isn’t really known for Big Hair anymore (praise Jesus), it’s still known for big patterns, big design, big personalities, big flavors, and big heart. I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, I am a Southern girl through and through. Give me 103 degrees over 33 any day of the week.
My mother-in-law was in town for the weekend, so I lit up the grill last night and loaded it with chicken and vegetables. But when my mother-in-law notice that I had thrown Peaches on the grill she looked at me a bit sideways. Apparently grilling fruit is one of the many things that just tends to be a Southern thing to do. (For more info on grilling fruits, check out this article, http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/most-grillable-fruits).
Along with grilled fruits there are several things I just prefer about the south. Like sweet tea. Almost every restaurant you go to in the South has sweet tea, you don’t find that up North.
But mostly, I’m a southern girl because Southerners are friendly. Southerners do Hospitality really well. Southerners want to sit on the couch and enjoy each other’s company together, or at a BBQ. I remember when my in-laws came in town once and someone complained at the grocery store because people kept offering to help us and asking if we needed any help finding anything. They were so annoyed. My comment was “it’s called southern hospitality, and people here find it charming, and get rather perturbed when they’re not asked if they need help at the grocery store”. Does anyone really like wandering around the grocery store to looking for things? No, they don’t. That’s what makes the South, charming. And ma’am, why aren’t more women around the world called ma’am. I personally like it. But once again, I’m a fool for southern charm. I also am a real fan of the Southern drawl. Now I’m not a Texas only snob for an accent, give me South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas…I like them all. I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, you’d be a lot cuter if you talked with a little bit of a drawl.
Which brings me to my final reason for why I love the South, the language. Yes Southerners have their own language. And since I tend to be known as someone to make up my own words and language all the time, this is particularly appealing to me. Pretty much anything goes in the South. You want to jamble up two or three words together and smash them into one? That’s okay. You want to draw out one word to a real long 15 syllable word? That’s fine too. Want to make up your own words? That’s okay as well.
All this to say, the South has gotten a bad rap, and some of it for really good reasons, but the South certainly isn’t all bad…or even half bad. And unfortunately, that’s all people are saying lately, is the bad, so here’s a little bit of good. Hope you enjoyed it!
***UPDATE***
9/3/19-Check out my newest blog on Southern charm
My Outlandish Life 
One thought on “My Southern Ways”