Growing up in the Magnolia State is an amazing experience. It’s also an experience that has a lasting impact on your life. Not so sure? Here are 10 surefire signs that you grew up in Mississippi.
- You know you have to cheer for either Ole Miss or State. It doesn't matter if you care about football or not, you have to pick a side. At all costs, avoid claiming you don’t care, or worse, cheering for both teams.
- You drink sweet tea like it's water. You were drinking it out of a mason jars far before it considered popular by Pinterest. #trendsetter
- Anytime you meet someone from Mississippi you can easily find a connection. Every time I meet someone from Mississippi, we talk until we have mutual friends. Bonus points if you can trace that friend to each other's specific hometown.
- Mississippi was one of the first words you learned to spell. And you learned how to spell it with the chant, "M-i-crooked letter-crooked letter-i-crooked letter-crooked letter-i-humpback-humpback-i.”
- You have been scolded for calling someone "Ma'am" or "Sir" because they were raised a bit differently. Meanwhile, you’re thinking to yourself, “Sorry you feel old, but if I don't say ‘ma'am’ my mom might appear from nowhere and passive-aggressively say it for me.”
- You probably shot a gun before you drove a car. Down here, shooting is a common backyard afternoon pastime. Sure, some of us participate in the hunting seasons, but many were raised to aim for an empty can sitting on a stump. Once, our Communications Director, Blair, even shot little cherry tomatoes off of a stump, and let me tell you, her dad was never so impressed.
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You have been covered in mosquito bites in the summer. No spray product guaranteed to ward off mosquitoes has ever successfully done so. If you plan to sit outdoors in the summer, especially at night, be prepared for the little red bumps that will inevitably appear on your skin before you go back inside. Scratching is forbidden, yet quite impossible to avoid.
- You either have or know several people with double names that roll off the tongue with a sweet and slow Southern drawl. You’re bound to know at least one Laura Leigh, Mary Margaret, Sara Catherine, Laura Elizabeth, John David, John Michael, William Henry, or Matthew David.
- Wednesday nights and Sundays are for church. Even if you don’t go to church, it plays a part in your schedule. Sporting events are never scheduled for Wednesdays and practices always end before five. Locally owned businesses are closed on Sunday, so Walmart is the only place to shop on Sunday.
- You love local. Locally grown vegetables, locally crafted goods, local everything. You love your state and take pride in supporting local.