A True Texan What is the first thing that pops in your head when you hear the word Texan? Do you think about uneducated, country hick people wearing plaid flannel button up shirts with wrangler jeans and cowboy boots? Or do you think about all the “Southern belles” that are always all dolled up with big hair and pounds of makeup on to perfection? Well, these are not the things that I think of when I hear the word Texan. Texans are often depicted, especially by the media, as being racist hicks who don’t understand technology and ride horses to work and school; yet Texans are just like everyone else. To prove it, this paper will consider different definitions of the term Texan and how Texans really are. In the Oxford dictionary it shows that the definition of Texan is a person or animal native to or inhabiting Texas. This definition is completely factual but leaves out a few things about Texans. In the Urban dictionary there are several definitions that people have written about Texans. The one that describes a true Texan is “someone with a sense of pride in their home state. Someone who, although they may not wear boots and ten-gallon hats, still feels like a cowboy. A Texan sticks to his word, and is generally polite and friendly, but wont take shit from anyone. Not all Texans are from Texas, for example John Wayne, and not all those from Texas are Texans. A Texan is also a person who can use the word y’all correctly, know that phrases like “yep” and “I tell you what” are sentences in themselves, and knows what real Mexican food is”. This definition really describes what it means to be a Texan. The term Texan is often associated with words like racist, redneck, and uneducated. Like other states our people are mixed with different personalities we have rednecks that farm and like to hunt, we have, unfortunately, some racist people and even uneducated people but what state doesn’t have these people. Just because Texans are known for certain things does not mean we are all like this. The true meaning to being a Texan is having pride in living or being from Texas. When people think of Texans they think of the cowboys, horses, the country and southern belles but there is so much more to a Texan than that. Texans are raised through traditions. Texans growing up are taught to be respectful to others; especially their elders. They are always expected to say, “yes ma’am” and “no sir”, never forget to say “thank you”, and greet others politely. Men are raised to treat women with respect; they are expected to open doors for women and always let the ladies go first. When a man wishes to propose to a woman he must first ask the father, or man of that household, if he can ask for the daughters hand in marriage. Men and women years ago use to have specific roles in the family. A man’s role was the head of the household, he was to provide for his family by working and making money, and he was in charge of taking care of the land and of course protecting his family. The woman’s role was to have kids that she must raise and take care of; she was to also take care of the house by cleaning, running errands, and cooking for the family. Kids even had a role of the house, once they got to the age of about ten they were to take care of the horses, cattle and other animals they own by feeding, washing, cleaning stalls and over all taking care of the animals. Now just like everywhere else roles differ between different families but still with the strong since of tradition. Most Texans believe in God and are very religious. It’s typically a common tradition to go to church on Sundays and now some even go to bible studies such as Younglife during the week. It is not uncommon to see youth groups and bible studies being run through the schools by kids as a club. Texans are known for being bigger than life. With everything they do, they do it to the biggest and boldest; for example Texas women being known for their big hair and Texans having to own the biggest and loudest trucks. The word Texan has such a simple definition that has been warped by negative judgment under false pretense to be associated with derogatory terms such as hillbilly, unintelligent and even worse, racist. In reality the word Texan should be affiliated with terms like polite, respectful and bold. By people better understanding the term and what it truly means to be a Texan they can understand how Texans really are just like everyone else.