What's next? I forget how to make cornbread? My pound cake doesn't rise? I lose my taste for grits? What's happening to me?
I remember talking to this guy on the phone and he teased me about how I drawled out my long "I" sounds. He said I shouldn't try to hide it or be embarassed about it because he thought it was cute.
In college, I remember sitting on the porch, joking around with my fellow Southerners about how you could tell if someone was Southern or not: get them to say, "Big, bright, white, light." If the person saying it was a true Southerner, they would say, "Big, braaaaht, whaaaaht, laaaaht."
Also in college, I struggled with pronouncing Spanish correctly because my Southern drawl would get tangled up in all the pronunciations.
But I never wished to lose my Southern accent. Not only did guys think it was hot, it is (was?) an inherent part of who I am as a Southerner.
How did this loss happen, you ask? I blame it on my Yankee friend from Ohio. We became best friends in the dorm and it just so happened his father had recently been transferred to Birmingham. He didn't have a car, so I would let him ride home with me from time to time. I moved back to Birmingham and he stayed in Auburn, but we kept up our friendship. When I moved back to Auburn and he moved back to Birmingham, we still stayed friends. And when I moved back to Birmingham and he stayed in Birmingham, it was he who helped get me through that which is The University of Alabama at Birmingham, otherwise known as UAB.
Y'all, those people at UAB act like a bunch of Yankees (except for the ones that are my friends), letting doors slam in your face and getting a kick out of saying, "Roll Tide!" to you when you wear an Auburn shirt, even though both of you are going to UAB. (Yes, I do not think there is much difference between Bammers and Yankees, except I'd rather marry a Yankee than a Bammer.)
So, as I was saying, my Yankee friend was the eye of the UAB storm for me. He would invite me to meet up with him for coffee before class by texting me, "Meet you at Foy?” Awww. (For you non-Auburn people out there, Foy was the beloved student union at Auburn University when I was a student there, and the HUC is the "Foy" of UAB. I know that "Foy" is not what all student unions are called, but in my world of commuting to UAB, along with all the people who work downtown, while hung-over from drinking at TC's until the wee hours, just so I could get a decent parking spot all while what I really wanted was "my" Auburn, the HUC would be called Foy.)
My Yankee friend and I shared a love for drinking beer (or wine from a box) until it was all gone and the convenience stores within a safe
My Yankee friend and I have an early history of having these atrocious fights. We were young and moody and took our moodiness out on each other. We had our last fight in 2004, and within six months, we were friends again and we've been on good terms ever since. In fact, for about three years, we were practically inseparable. I used to have so much fun getting all gussied up to go to our favorite dive bar with him on Saturday nights. I even was invited to his family's Christmas, y'all. Pretty serious stuff for not being his girlfriend. Then, after I got back together with my first serious boyfriend, he started to drop off the face of the earth again. I haven't seen him much over the past couple of years, but hanging around him all that time prior had done its damage.
Y'all, one day while I was out and about, I was chit-chatting with someone and they asked me, "Where are you from?"
Not thinking anything of it, I said, "From here. Birmingham."
"No, I mean, where were you raised?"
"Here. Born and raised."
"What about your parents?"
"Same. Well, my father was from Walker County."
"You mean you've never lived anywhere else?"
"Well, I went to college in Auburn for a few years."
"It's funny you don't sound like you're from the South."
Y'all, that Yankee and his family neutralized my accent and I don't know if I can get it back!
