Everything Southerners know when they go to school in the Northeast

Sweet Tea, quality Southern food, manners, your house, your family…

What do these all have in common? Well they might be things you miss about the South and what you cherish as soon as you return home for vacation or summer.

It’s hard moving away from such a familiar place like your hometown. If you’re from a small town, everyone knows everyone whereas if you’re from a bigger city such as Nashville, Atlanta, or Orlando, it’s a whole different ordeal.

Leaving the South and entering the Northeast is like entering Narnia – everything is new and unfamiliar. Suddenly new morals arise or are forgotten in the unfamiliar territory that becomes your new home. Though when it really boils down to it, it depends on how you were raised as to whether or not the Northeast is shocking or comfortable.

Weather can get this cold?

The weather is without a doubt a game changer. Whether you live near the beach or are in the center of the state, the weather in the South is about the same, if not hotter. Temperatures rarely drop below 15 degrees in the winter time, and snow never sticks around for day three.

Your whole life, you considered anything below 60 degrees to be “cold”, but your first winter at college in the Northeast changed your perspective forever.

On a cloudy, January morning, you wake up and read that the temperature outside is 10 degrees. Yikes! Were you prepared for such a drastic change? Snow boots, winter jackets, a snow scraper for your car if you drove it up, two layers of gloves…all of these are a must to pack for a Northern winter experience.

The worst part is definitely the windchill. It slices at your face like a knife, probably making you wish you had went to college in the South.

Country girl at heart

Doing homework is always fun because you’ve got the hottest country albums on repeat. Forgetting your Southern roots is next to impossible.

This is how my mother raised me

You always address your teachers as either “sir” or “ma’am” though some may question your motive. Whereas I was perceived to be “rude” when I said these words, the reactions may vary. It’s how we were raised. It shows politeness, which is the #1 thing to be in the South, and it’s how my mother raised me.

Just a Southern thing

You say “y’all” because it’s quicker than saying “you all”, and saying either “you guys” or “you girls” is out of the question. As soon as you say “y’all” to someone, he or she instantly knows where you’re from: the South.

Don’t be ashamed as to where you’re from. You’re probably unique since most Southerners never want to leave the South. You stand out but in a good way. Diversity is needed in the Northeast to keep life interesting.

Discuss politics at your own risk

You’re most likely a Republican though with the 2016 election coming up, you may wish to be neither (unless you’re for Clinton), and debating politics is weird because you’re used to being conservative.

Unfamiliar terms that put your morals to the test

The term “hook up” to you means “had sex” though the definition ranges from “making out” to “sex”, and you cringe at the thought of it because if you were raised religiously, you were taught to 1) date to marry and 2) save yourself for your future husband.

What are EZ pass tolls?

The existence of EZ Pass Tolls is weird because unless you’re from Orlando or somewhere else, you’ve never had to pay money to enter or leave a city.

Football is a religion, whatever people say

Football is basically a separate religion in the South, and if you’re a huge sports fan, you know who the best teams are and always watch football with your father and brother. You also attend every home football game at your high school and wear your school colors with pride, but in the Northeast, football isn’t as popular. Basketball is, or crew or ice hockey. You find it strange that football isn’t talked about a lot but slowly learn to accept that realization…until you return home and scream your lungs out at a state game.

Food will never be great without salt

Adding salt comes naturally because you add it to whatever food has no flavor, no pizzaz. When your Northern friends ask you why you put salt on your vegetables or whatever it is, you simply say it’s because it has no flavor. They might think it’s weird, but you think it’s normal.

But when you’re home, and you order chicken biscuit with gravy, you leave the salt where it is. There’s no need.

Southern stereotypes are true – sometimes

You often get asked stereotypical questions about Southerners or are told Southern stereotypes. Whether or not you find it funny or are offended is entirely up to you.

“Yes, I own shoes. No, I don’t walk around barefoot all the time.”

But at the end of the day, you enjoy the time you have wherever you are because you know inside, your heart will always belong in the South, and so will your family, friends and your home.