There’s nothing quite like an Arkansas childhood, and I imagine many of us have lots of stories to tell. No matter where you’ve gone after your childhood here, you probably have some residue of that childhood left. Below you’re going to find 13 signs that your Arkansas raising stuck with you, in no particular order.

1. You still love the exact same creek you swam in as a kid.
Flickr/Clinton Steeds
Your parents took you there before you could walk, and you’ve been going back by yourself, and with your friends and family since you could drive.
2. You don’t think it’s weird to see a tractor driving down a road.
Flickr/UnicronSocial
In fact, if you still live near your hometown, you probably know the guy driving the tractor.
3. You get a little judgmental about frying methods.
Flickr/Warren Layton
Breading, order of breading process, oil temperature, cast iron vs. deep fryer...the list of things to argue about is seemingly endless.
4. You’ve got a favorite dirt road.
Flickr/Mike Norton
It may be the one you learned to drive on.
5. You’re in a lifelong war with allergens.
Wikmedia Commons
They try to kill you, every year. Every single year, since you were born, they’ve been trying to kill you. I’ve been at war with allergens for 33 years now, and I’m tired, but I just keep fighting anyway.

They look like weapons because they are weapons.
6. You’re horrified when folks are rude to each other.
Flickr/sgt fun
This is especially true when folks are rude to old people. I bet you just can’t stand that, because if we learned anything it’s to cherish the old stories told to us by our favorite old timers and value their wisdom.

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7. You don’t think it’s weird that Arkansas’s PBS has a program about cooking game.
Flickr/jazz guy
Some folks may be a little freaked out about this, but the only part that freaks you out a little is that the program means there are some Arkansans who didn’t grow up learning this particular set of skills.
8. You’ve eaten some kind of meat that makes folks from other states cringe.
Wikimedia Commons/ PiccoloNamek
Deer, squirrel, rabbit, possum . . . would y’all be surprised to hear that I ate all of those things as a child?
9. You know how to grow or raise your own food.
Flickr/Jennifer C.
You may not have the space to raise cattle, hogs, or even chickens, but you grew up knowing how to grow an absolutely fantastic tomato.
10. You’re accustomed to hearing all the terrible things about the South, and coming up with witty retorts that you’re too polite to say out loud.
Flickr/Alessandro Valli
*screaming internally*
11. You feel connected to the land.
Flickr/Jonathan Ball
Somehow the land just gets down in your blood here in the Natural State.
12. At some point, you’ve discovered that your childhood involved way more time outside than your friends from other states.
Flickr/Chad
Even the least outdoorsy Arkansan is more outdoorsy than some of the folks from other places.
13. To this day, the words "go get me a switch" strike fear into your very heart.
Flickr/Stacey Brunner

For things we all grew up hearing in Arkansas, click here. To see strange habits we all defend, read this article.

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