Things That Make Me Happy, Volume I: Y'All

I figured I had better post something of this nature because it occurred to me that I probably look like a very sad/angry biznatch right now who's jamming to the likes of Alanis Morrisette and Avril Lavigne. While I'm still dealing with the circumstances which led to my emo post of a couple weeks ago, I'm actually doing somewhat better. And thanks to everyone who has checked up on me since.

Eesh, that was sort of a mushy start.. maybe we try and pick up the tempo here? Fantastic!

Now, while the people who actually choose to read the word vomit I like to call a blog (especially the crazies who actually find it funny!) are more than special to me, the "y'all" I'm talking about in this case is actually the term itself.

Let me just say that I grew up in California, where there was no "y'all" to speak of. In fact, I would tease people who said "y'all" (as well as anyone with any form of regional accent--and it was totally endearing; I love accents! Promise). However, since I started living in the South, I've noticed the term slipping itself gradually into my daily vocabulary.

I'll admit, the first time I used it, it was totally forced. I was determined to try it out after about a week of living here, and was trying to get directions on a college campus.

For whatever reason, I was irrationally nervous about this, as if it was my first time on a pair of skis or something. I could feel my heart beating in my closing throat as I felt fresh forehead shine that had nothing to do with the smothering heat and humidity. As a result, and as I said, it was totally forced. It probably sounded something like a dying seagull.

The people from whom I was trying to get directions looked at me like an alien (duh, they knew I wasn't from around here if I was asking for directions). But I also felt totally awkward, as if I just rolled over land mines made of missed social cues.

In retrospect, I probably just felt that way because I just forced "y'all" to come out of my throat. I only learned later that you have to ease into it. So, instead of trying to hurl "y'alls" around, I started saying "you all" in lieu of "you guys,” and eventually worked my way down to “y’all.” And once I heard that "you guys" is actually grammatically less correct than "you all," I became officially hooked. (What can I say? I'm a rules chick.) And can you believe it? I now actually have an aversion to the phrase "you guys." Insane! I never would have seen that one coming.

The thing that's so great about "y'all" (other than it being grammatically correct) is its ability to be slipped out very quickly in conversation. Instead of wasting an entire syllable on the word “guys,” “girls,” or “all,” you can speed right through whatever it is you’re saying.

Also, who couldn't love a phrase that comes up in the lyrics of a song made by a fake Australian band, part of which gets stuck on a mysterious moving island packed with polar bears, smoke monsters, and buttons that save the world? Seriously, every time I hear “you all” I have the urge to finish the phrase with “everybody!” And then I have Charlie’s high falsetto stuck in my head for HOURS. It’s great!



I’m pretty sure I’m going to continue to say “y’all,” even after I leave South Carolina.