I have lived in the same small, southern town my entire life. The time I've spent in Nashville so far for college has really shown me how important and special my southern roots are to me. My friends are from around the country and the world. This has given me the chance to see how much of an impact the part of the country that you were born and raised in has on how you act and what you value. So here are the 10 things that being raised in the south teaches you.
1. Anyone who is older than you is addressed with a sir or ma'am. Also, "yes, please" or "no, thank you" are the only ways to respond to yes or no questions.
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2. You always hold the door for people coming in or going out at the same time as you, especially elderly people.
3. Football is so much more than a sports game. For the players it instills discipline and hard work. For the dedicated fans, when you root for the same team it brings people together, and when you're on opposing sides it teaches you how to look past people's differences and love them anyway.
4. Country music teaches you how to deal with love and loss and how to have a good time with only a pick up truck, an empty field, and all of your friends.
5. Living in the Bible Belt teaches one of the most important lessons that the south has to offer. Jesus' sacrifice and love has the power to change so many lives.
6. At least when you grow up in a small town in the south you know to wave and be friendly at everyone you pass. Every person you see is important.
7. A true, deep appreciation of nature. There's just nothing quite like walking through the woods when they're completely silent or watching a field day after day go from barren to covered in so much cotton it looks like a bed of snow.
8. Hard work is the only way to achieve anything. Most teens in the south have a job as soon as they turn 16 whether that's working on a family's farm or a local restaurant. It's never to early to learn the value of a dollar.
9. Moving at a slower pace isn't always a bad thing. When you move at a break neck pace all of the time how much of your life are you actually experiencing? Taking time to smell the roses is taken to heart in the south.
10. It's always a good time to treat yourself with some true down home, southern cooking. This includes all things friend, cooked by your grandma, and the sweetest of sweet teas.
Almost everyone can agree that we do things just a little differently here in the south. I love every chance I get to be exposed to the ways that other people in America and the world live, but southern culture will always hold the most special of places in my heart.
man running in forestPhoto by 
