When you first head off to college, you expect the adjustment to be hard, especially if you’re going to school far away from home. You can call it a culture shock. That feeling of being in a new home that doesn’t yet feel like home. Feeling out of place in the middle of a sea of people that seem to know exactly where they’re going. But here’s a little secret-almost know one, especially in college, has it all together. Everyone has a little guidebook in their head to make it look like they know what they’re doing in life. And if you’re a kid from the North, going to school here in this beautiful state of Georgia, here’s a little guidebook of sorts for you. Doesn’t matter if you’re from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, or anywhere else, I bet a handful of the things we do down here strikes you as a bit odd.

1. We are a talkative bunch; being friendly to each other is in our culture.

As I’m sure every Berry student has noticed, when you pass someone on the sidewalk, 9 times out 10, they will smile at you or say hi. Just a tip, if you want neighbors that leave you alone, you’ll probably want to move. I know from my limited experience in Northern states that if someone smiles at you on the street in New York or Boston, it might mean they’ve lost it.

2. It’s hot.

Yes, I know summers up in Michigan can get up to 90 degrees occasionally. But summers in Atlanta? It will hit 90 degrees and above regularly. There might even be a week or two where it’s 100 degrees every day. Even at night, when the sun goes down, the air around you can feel like steam. But not only is it hot, it’s humid. Georgia air is heavy. Humidity is usually above 70 percent. It’s not uncommon to feel like the air is hugging you from all sides. So if you’re going to be outside during the summer for any extended period of time, bring a water bottle... or five.

3. It isn’t officially summer until everything is coated in fine mist of yellow: Pollen.

You know how you can tell when it’s winter in some states by whether or not the ground is coated in a white powder? Down here, spring hasn't hit until every
car is a different shade of yellow or orange. Buy some Zyrtec if you haven’t already. The strong stuff

4. While it is often swelteringly hot, it is just as often gorgeous--blue skies and just enough sun.

I didn’t actually notice this myself. My brother’s girlfriend, who’s from Missouri, pointed it out to me. There are a lot of hills here. And green. Rolling green hills for miles and miles. Forests line bumpy highways. Atlanta is often called “the city hidden in the forest”. This really is a beautiful place. So if you ever feel homesick, walk outside onto the fresh green grass, lay down on your lawn and close your eyes. Feel the rays strike your face as the honeysuckle-scented wind blows by.

5. Food. We fry it.

We will fry all of it. I have eaten fried Oreos and Twix and I’ve heard of some Georgians who even fry butter. We appreciate our food here, not our colon. For the most part, we value taste, not calorie count. In my house, a meal wasn’t a real meal unless it had some kind of meat in it. Sometimes a meal was just steak, and then pie. My dad’s most famous recipe is his pecan pie, which he smokes on his meat-smoker. If you don’t like that sort of thing, we do have healthier options out there. I’ve just never ventured to find them.

6. If someone calls you sir or ma’am, that does not make you old or even an authority figure.

My dad calls every female he sees ma’am, whether they are older or younger than him. It’s a sign of respect. Southern gentleman don’t open the door for ladies because they think women can’t open the door themselves; they do it because they were raised to help those around them. The South has a pretty inter-connected culture, meaning that most of us care what happens to our neighbor.

7. Now just because we have manners does mean we are always nice.

We are always polite, not always kind. Up in the North “bless you” is a very kind, generous gesture, but if a Southerner “blesses your heart”, it is not in any way sweet. Most of you probably already know this, but “bless your heart” is a polite way of calling someone dumb. I know it might have come off, earlier in this article, like I was saying that Southerners were nicer people than Northerners. That is not so. We still judge other people just like every culture does, but we do it subtly and sneakily. My grandmother can, and has, insulted someone without them ever knowing it.

8. Yes, some of us have quite strong southern accents. But even still, some of us don’t.

It mostly depends if the person grew up in a city like Atlanta or in a more rural area in southern Georgia. One of my best friends at Berry has the textbook definition of a Southern twang. I don’t know why this would bother you, but if it does, don’t worry. You’ll get used to the way we talk down here. Eventually, you won’t even notice the way some of the students around you make short words into three syllable words

9. If you order unsweetened tea at a restaurant, not only will you be served tea with at least two packets of sugar in it, but you will also be looked at rather strangely.

Also, on a similar note-Pepsi isn’t a thing. We drink Coke here.

10. Football may have been a big thing at your high school, but college football here is not a sport: It’s a way of life.

You can even make pretty accurate comparisons between college football and religion. And yes, the majority of us are religious. But it’s ok if you’re not. Whether Christian, Southern, or Christian Southern-we don’t bite.

Just because we definitely do things a certain way here, doesn’t mean that all aren’t welcome. So hey y’all, enjoy your stay.