Miami Girl

I grew up in Miami.  I wasn't born here, but I've lived here since I was just 4 years old.  I went to school here my entire life and even completed college at the local university while still living at my mom's house.

I didn't leave till I was 22, where I moved to Orlando to begin my "adult life" as a "working woman", teaching K-8 music.  After living in Orlando for 3.5 years, we moved far away to the "real South"... Greenville SC.  We lived there for another 2.5 years before coming back to Miami to stay.

I've always considered myself a "Miami Girl".  No, I'm not always wearing a bikini, drinking mojitos and laying out on the sand.  But living here is different than living anywhere else.  The lifestyle is different.  The expectations are different.  The girls are prettier, the guys are more fit.  Status is everything.  Even the way "Miami Girls" TALK is different.

Don't believe me?  Watch this hilarious video which PERFECTLY displays "Miami Girl" talk and accent.  I mean, these people hit the nail right on the head.

I laughed my butt off watching that video... because it is NOT an exaggeration.  It is perfection.  And it's not just the things the SAY, but the way they say IT.

Can you hear it?  The accent?  The sing-songy way of speaking?

Maybe you need to watch the second video to really understand what I'm talking about:

I'm not making fun here... I'm just stating fact.  And for those of you who knew me from Orlando or South Carolina, the answer is yes.  When I lived here, I absolutely talked like that!  But, we don't even REALIZE we're doing it... that's the catch.  It's just the city's accent.

So what made me think of this?  I was talking to an old high school friend, Vanessa (who's a beautiful fashion blogger).  We haven't talked on the phone in over 10 years.  We keep in contact with FB, Instagram, Twitter and our Blogs, but we haven't TALKED in a really long time.  Right when she heard my voice she said, "Nicole?  Your voice sounds so weird... you sound like you're an American".

I thought this was so funny.  Apparently, without thinking of it or trying, I have lost my "Miami Girl" accent.  I guess that's what 6 years away from Miami will do to you.