My first trip back from the south.

I was born in Pennsylvania and moved to North Carolina when I was four, living here ever since. Most of my family resides in Maryland. Maryland is where my brothers and sisters grew up. Throughout my younger years my "accent" (if i even had a northern one) never really changed. One event that sticks out in my mind though is when I went to Maryland for a family reunion the summer that I was 7 years old. Whenever I would talk to a member of my family who lived in Maryland they would say that I've "converted to the south" and that I "sounded like a true southerner". I hadn't even noticed this at all but I really took offense to all the people telling me that my accent had changed. I was never made fun of my accent in North Carolina so I couldn't understand why I was made fun of for my accent in Maryland. I remember thinking why is this such a big deal to them. Now that I'm older I don't get made fun of for my "accent" by my family members and I actually think they have a "more country" accent than I do. I never understood the separation between the north and the south. My family from maryland is to me, the epitome of a southerner. They live in rural parts of town, they say "yes ma'am and no sir", they go hunting, my Grandma makes the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. For my parents and I who have lived in North Carolina for a little over 14 years, Harris Teeter makes our fried chicken, we live in a big city, and besides my dad, none of us go hunting. It's just really funny to me that I used to get made fun of for my accent when I was younger by my Maryland relatives.