Quick Confession: Southern is a state of mind

When I first moved to Georgia I was about 7 years old. I had to say goodbye to my yellow room and snowy white winters and was transplanted into the humid, sticky, Atlanta summer of '98.

At first and for a long while, I just hated Georgia. I wondered what all of my friends were doing without me - at the time there was no Facebook and area codes were new. Moving is hard and I didn't make friends easily. I was too mad to branch out.

I stayed mad for a long time. It actually wasn't until I came to Brenau for the first time that I really appreciated the south.

My mother had always wanted to live in Georgia. She had a dream as a child, traveling through the state, of southern romance, Gone With the Wind and clear skies.

Of course, Atlanta has changed since then. But my mother's childhood dream remained. Despite the lack of plantation gowns, she was finally in Georgia.

It turns out, what I needed was a place to plant roots. Sure, I could have escaped back up to Wisconsin when college applications came about. But instead, I stayed. I tried something new.

That's when I discovered Brenau. It was a teeny women's college, tucked away in a small town, where everybody knows your name.

Brenau showed me that there was southern hospitality, if you knew where to look and if you chose to accept it. I found a place that celebrated both it's history and it's progression forward. I found a place where I felt comfortable, where I fit in... where I belonged.

In short, it just felt right.

Now, I love Georgia! It's one of the best places to be- the once-annoying, sticky summers are now balmy and leisurely. The short, snowless winters are now blips of cold in endless sunshine, just long enough to wear boots and coats without getting sick of them.

Perspective counts for a lot. Southern really is a state of mind - as is anything. The question is whether or not you fight it or embrace it.

I think this was from the first time Mother and I went to Nutcracker at the FOX (~1999)

 Needless to say, it's a favorite childhood photo!

Have you ever had to change your perspective on something and ultimately changed your life? How? Share with me in the comments below!

Stay true to yourself (and look for the good in things!),
Alyson