As many people know, I am from a very small town. Words do not exactly have the same meaning to us as they might for other people.In my little hick town, most people just make up words. It is probably the most illiterate place known to man. I got used to it the older I got. I never really knew that I had an accent or used words in funny phrases until I moved to College Station. My meanings of words has changed tremendously in the past four months. When telling someone "bye" someone from my hometown might say "I'll holler at ya",but in College Station people would probably think that was a joke. If I am going to the grocery store and I need a shopping cart I would most likely say "will you grab me a buggy" and people from the city have no idea what a "buggy" is. If I went to school one day and was telling people that me and my mom got into an argument I would say "me and my mom got into a knock down drag out last night". I said that in front of my boyfriend and he honestly had no idea what that meant because he is from the Austin area. If I needed to go to the store my friends would say "its just down yonder". If someone looked really nice for church on that Sunday everyone at church would tell them "that is some nice get up. If I was going out with my friends that weekend you could guarantee that it was going to be a "hoot and holler". If I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing I was "piddlin" in something. We also greet people by saying "whacha say dah". Even the educators back home use "yall","aint"and "gonna". We also do not pronounce the "g's" at the ends of words, we pronounce them as lovin,fixin,dancin,muddin,and ridin.

     Living in an area like College Station has made me realize honestly how ignorant some of those things sound but when you hear that stuff your entire life you do not even realize that other people would never even think of saying something like that. I am very proud and happy to have been from that small town but so thankful to get out and widen my horizon of vocabulary. Words are starting to get a whole new meaning to me and it is so interesting to me to find new ways to say things. I am very thankful to have gotten out of that one horse town and to educate myself so I do not sound like a redneck my entire life.

I am Haleigh Belt. Although I was raised in Texas I was actually born in California. I have grown up my whole life in a little town in Southeast Texas called Colmesneil with a population of about 550 people. My graduating class had a total of 21 kids in it. The kids I started kindergarten with are pretty much the exact kids that I graduated high school with. I could never wait to get out of that little drama filled town but now that I am 3 hours away from home I sure do miss it. Growing up in Colmesneil was something amazing. In high-school I was involved in all sports, including volleyball, softball, basketball, track and I was a cheerleader. In volleyball I was our main outside hitter and a blocker. In Softball I played shortstop and centerfield and could also hit from the left and ride side. In basketball I pretty much played wherever my coach needed me. I could play a wing and make outside shots or if he needed me as a post I also played down low and was a post. In track I ran the sprint relay, both hurdle events and did pole-vault. In Cheerleading I was a captain my junior and senior and also made All-American Cheerleader my senior year. I strongly believe that sports has sculpted me into the person I am today. It has made me a leader and given me strong determination to reach my new goals, as I was always trying to meet new goals in my sports. I was also involved in FFA which was one of my favorite parts about high school. In FFA I did many speaking events. I did one called Radio Broadcasting and another called Poultry which is where you judge chickens. Now that I don’t have sports to keep entertained 365 days of the year I have started working out a lot and that has taken up all of the free time I have. I really started working out in high school because to play as many sports as I did I had to be in the very best shape. I have gotten more serious about my working out since I moved to college mainly so I do not gain the so called 'freshman fifteen". I really enjoy working out and buying all my clothes and shoes to workout in. I try to work out every single day and if I can’t get to it one day then I just do a harder work out the next day. I love working out it is probably my favorite hobby right now. I read sometimes here and there and I really hope to start reading more I am very cliché when it comes to my reading. I like to read sappy love novels. I mainly prefer Nicholas Sparks books. I also really like to shop. Some call it a hobby but my dad calls it an addiction. I spend pretty much all of my extra money on shoes, make up and clothes. I could spend all day every day in a mall if my bank account could handle that. I probably own half of aggie land outfitters. I also really like to spend time with my best friend and boyfriend. I pretty much spend all of my free time with them.