I ran across an article recently in Garden and Gun - "Redefining the Southern Belle" - that touched me. I had to share it. So I did. With my roommate. I read it. Then we all read it together. And then we talked about what it means to us, now that aren't on our own stomping grounds, to be Southern women. Now that we are out of college. Now that we have had encounters where people are interested or amused or bewildered or disrespectful of our backgrounds, our style, our accents, and our easy smiles. Now that we have learned to respect and appreciate where we are from.
We shared our experiences with each other.
And we did it while eating a plate of chocolate chip cookies in our underwear and the windows open.
It isn't something I thought I would talk about - at least not as freely as I have learned that I am capable of, once I get started. Rambling is not something new to me. Just the topic. I'm still feeling out my thoughts on the matter.
Anyways, we all agreed that it isn't something that we ever thought we would talk about. It wasn't until college that we came to value our history, our backgrounds, as Southern women.
And now, as we all sit in boiling hot apartment above a noisy street in New York City, listening to the drips and the sirens and the door slams and the traffic, feeling like dainty giants in our miniature apartment with our easy bake ovens and shared closets and no doors, and attempts to fulfill our dreams and hopes and wishes, chasing what seems attainable only in the "best city in the world", chasing lives as artists of various respects (metal works, dancer) and in various degrees, we speak of what it means, how it feels, and what will come of our transitions from lives we once detested and couldn't wait to get away from, to being proud, and yes, even a bit defensive of that life which we've (un?)willingly left behind. From tales of rude comments ("You are from SC? You speak English really well!") to invaluable words of wisdom from grandmothers (If you are uncomfortable in a new situation, the other person probably is, too. Step out, make the effort to speak to them - if you make them feel better, you'll feel better), we came to a bit of a conclusion that we couldn't seem to say properly... we are Southern. And we are capable of a great deal.
And maybe that's why we are here, in a tiny apartment above a busy city eating cookies in our underwear. We've got something to say, to show, to do, to be. And although this may be our first great springboard, we wouldn't have been able to launch if not for our backgrounds.
We look forward to people asking us where we are from. We have a lot to share.
We never really finished the discussion - just trailed into other topics, like ghosts and fine art and pixie hair cuts and the early morning run we are *going* to take/deciding to jump up and down for 20 minutes for the cardio that we missed out on this morning and tiny apartment yoga. And I'm not sure how she felt/feels about our conversation tonight, but I'm glad we talked. A bit aimlessly, and about nothing in particular, but it sure was nice to revisit what makes us unique in this big big pond.
Here is the article, and although I can't attest to all of the things the writer talks about, she sure said some of the things in just the right way:
http://gardenandgun.com/article/new-southern-belle?page=0%2C0
*provided we don't turn off our 6:30 am alarms... again.
We shared our experiences with each other.
And we did it while eating a plate of chocolate chip cookies in our underwear and the windows open.
It isn't something I thought I would talk about - at least not as freely as I have learned that I am capable of, once I get started. Rambling is not something new to me. Just the topic. I'm still feeling out my thoughts on the matter.
Anyways, we all agreed that it isn't something that we ever thought we would talk about. It wasn't until college that we came to value our history, our backgrounds, as Southern women.
And now, as we all sit in boiling hot apartment above a noisy street in New York City, listening to the drips and the sirens and the door slams and the traffic, feeling like dainty giants in our miniature apartment with our easy bake ovens and shared closets and no doors, and attempts to fulfill our dreams and hopes and wishes, chasing what seems attainable only in the "best city in the world", chasing lives as artists of various respects (metal works, dancer) and in various degrees, we speak of what it means, how it feels, and what will come of our transitions from lives we once detested and couldn't wait to get away from, to being proud, and yes, even a bit defensive of that life which we've (un?)willingly left behind. From tales of rude comments ("You are from SC? You speak English really well!") to invaluable words of wisdom from grandmothers (If you are uncomfortable in a new situation, the other person probably is, too. Step out, make the effort to speak to them - if you make them feel better, you'll feel better), we came to a bit of a conclusion that we couldn't seem to say properly... we are Southern. And we are capable of a great deal.
And maybe that's why we are here, in a tiny apartment above a busy city eating cookies in our underwear. We've got something to say, to show, to do, to be. And although this may be our first great springboard, we wouldn't have been able to launch if not for our backgrounds.
We look forward to people asking us where we are from. We have a lot to share.
We never really finished the discussion - just trailed into other topics, like ghosts and fine art and pixie hair cuts and the early morning run we are *going* to take/deciding to jump up and down for 20 minutes for the cardio that we missed out on this morning and tiny apartment yoga. And I'm not sure how she felt/feels about our conversation tonight, but I'm glad we talked. A bit aimlessly, and about nothing in particular, but it sure was nice to revisit what makes us unique in this big big pond.
Here is the article, and although I can't attest to all of the things the writer talks about, she sure said some of the things in just the right way:
http://gardenandgun.com/article/new-southern-belle?page=0%2C0
*provided we don't turn off our 6:30 am alarms... again.
