Adjusting to Texas Culture

The summer before my senior year of high school, my family moved from Michigan to Texas. This was a big adjustment for all of us. Texas is so different from Michigan! People who have lived in Texas their whole life may not realize just how unique and different Texas culture is from cultures in the north.

Southern accent aside, Texans use slang that is never said up north; the most obvious of all being “y’all.” In the south it is called soda instead of pop. A saying I found funny at first is that down here you ask someone, “What did you make on your test?” No one would ever say that in Michigan, we would ask what you got on the test. It’s just one simple word change, but to someone coming into a new culture it is strange to have to add a word or phrase to your vocabulary in a way you’ve never used it before. Another thing that was a little difficult to pick up on at first is that to a Texan, everything is a sweater. You pick up a hoodie, a Texan calls it a sweater. Your crewneck, that’s a sweater too. And yes, your sweater is still a sweater. These are just a few examples of Texas lingo I can think of off the top of my head. What’s funniest to me is that all of this Texas slang is now fully a part of my vocabulary.

Clothing is also a part of Texas culture that is different from Michigan. For example, I don’t think I ever saw a person wearing cowboy boots up north out of all eighteen years I lived there. Anymore though, a day doesn’t go by without me seeing at least one pair of boots. For someone new to the idea, it's a little strange to see cowboy boots being worn casually out in public, but it didn’t take long for me to become completely accustomed to them. I actually happen to love them! Boots aren’t the only thing that is different about Texas clothing; when I was in Michigan this past Christmas, my friends were all asking me why my tshirts were so big. It took me until then to realize that the oversize shirt with leggings and riding boots trend is a southern trend that is not seen up north.

I realize I could go on forever about how different Texas culture is from the culture I grew up with in Michigan, but I’m trying to keep this short and sweet. One final thing about Texas culture that was noticeably different from that of the north would be the southern hospitality. It is a real thing, and a very nice thing at that.