Things Only Girls with Southern Accents Understand

There are certain sounds that are distinctly Southern, like the hum of cicadas or the rumble of hot thunder every afternoon in the summer. But by far, the most distinct auditory clue, the South's calling card of sorts, is the melodic sound of a true Southern accent. Not all accents are alike, but just enough sweetness carries over from Appalachia to Alabama to East Texas to tie them all together, marking a certain Southern way of speaking. And a Southern drawl doesn't go unnoticed… if someone's ever stopped you mid-sentence, or insists you say "y'all" one more time, you might can relate. Here, eight things only girls with Southern accents will understand:

1. You're constantly being told everything your accent is or is not. "Oh my gosh, your accent is so_____!" Cute, Strong, Funny, Subtle, Strange…
2. You experience two instances where it genuinely gets stronger. (More often than not, these situations are one in the same.) Either one, when you're angry, and the other, when you're around your family.
3. You dare not travel without your accent. In fact, you may even need to play it up when you cross the Southern border, just to avoid all those "…but where's your accent?" or "It's just not as strong as I expected…" Let's be honest, we never want to let anyone down.
4. You seem to have a lot more luck getting what you want than your friends not blessed with such a persuasive, genteel drawl.
5. You're driven crazy by a poorly executed fake Southern accent.
6. You should prepare for the entire conversation to derail if you say y'all in front of a crowd not from the South.
7. You have a way of glazing over the harshest of criticisms. No comment is too petty to be sweetened up with a Southern accent.
8. You know there's no "one" Southern accent. Those cousins of yours out in east Tennessee might not sound like kin to your mama's family in southern Mississippi. But you'd take any one of the many Southern accents over any other variety, any day.