Let's be real, there are certain things that differentiate us "valley people" from other areas of Texas.

1. Q TACOS. It's a piece of heaven that comes in the form of a egg and potato, beans and cheese (with bacon being highly recommended to add in) taco. The ladies at the Stripes gas stations have these miracle hands that create magic out of homemade flour tortillas.
2. BEACH FAMILY VACATIONS. Ever told mom you wanted to do something for summer break? Was it Disney land or New York? Nope. Classic parent response was "but we have the beach right here."
3. SOUTH HEAT. We know the struggle of how hot Texas can get. 100 degree weather and you're freaking out?
4. SPANISH LANGUAGE EXPECTANCY. oh, you're from the valley so you know Spanish right? Wrong. The Valley is known for being mostly Hispanic descent but that doesn't mean everyone that comes from there knows Spanish.
5. DIVERSITY SHOCK. Moving into a different city 5 hours away from the valley made me realize that the world isn't filled with just Mexicans and Latinos. There's a whole other world out there once you leave.
6. LATE RADIO SONGS. As new songs begin to arise in different places of Texas, south Texas is always the last to hear them maybe months after it was originally released.
7. TAQUERIAS. I've been told, the sketchier the area of the taqueria, the better, because they don't necessarily need to invest on making the place look nice when they already have the perfect recipe in their food to bring you back. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself, and you'll understand.
8. RASPA STAND. This probably goes hand-in-hand with the South Texas heat. You can find a sno-cone place almost at any corner because vendors are smart and know how to get you. The only catch is that you need to find the one you like most. P.S. We DO refer to sno-cones as "raspa".
9. LA BASILICA DE SAN JUAN. If you're Catholic and living in the Valley, you have been here at least once for mass.
10. PALM TREES. Ever left the Valley for vacation and kept asking mom and dad the taunting question of "Are we there yet??" Spotting palm trees was the quick and easy answer to this. Once you spotted the palm trees, you've reached the Valley.
11. DANCING. Some of us know how to two-step but those of us that don't, I guarantee they at least know how to Cumbia/Salsa/Guapango. It's in our culture and we just know, so it makes up for it if we don't.
12. DELIA'S TAMALES. Ever wanted year-round tamales that were just almost as good as your grandmother's Christmas tamales? Delia's was the go-to for this. WARNING: There is always a long line.
13. CHILE/SPICE CRAVING. We want the hottest thing you've got. We're from the valley, our stomach can handle it. We also covered most of our snacks and fruit with Trechas or Lucas. Believe me, the demand for this is so real that there was always that one kid in school that secretly sold Lucas candy, where some people could have mistaken this for a drug exchange but it was really candy.
14. VALLEY EXCITEMENT. There's so much excitement that comes with meeting other people from the valley. To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure why either, because even though the valley has its ups and downs, we all come from this same area where we all experienced near the same incidents.
15. VALLEY PROUD. No matter how much you complain about the things that happen and use the #ValleyProbs hashtag to rant on mishaps, you know you love it no matter what and you are so proud to say that you grew up in the Rio Grande Valley.