in middle school, i thought it would be the coolest thing in the world, if i actually used phrases from Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl" in my real life. obviously there are a lot of problems with this, but the first i would like to clear up, is that i am an actual valley girl, born and raised. one time my brother's cousin (they're half brothers) came into town from nothern california and told me he was excited to go back to his friends and tell them he met a real live valley girl. at the time i didn't think anything of it, but looking back, that was probably a quiet slam against "my kind." i'll admit that the time in my life where i was like totally using like after like every sentence, and like referring to things like being totally like grody to the max, was definitely not one of my finer moments in history, but hey i was young and didn't know any better.
as i grew up the exaggeration of my valley girls speech shrank, and came what it is today. what i thought is a normal way of speaking. still living in the valley no one ever said anything about it, because that was how everyone spoke. that was the dialect that belonged to our community, and we all used it the same. surprisingly i even survived a year or two in san francisco where people never bothered me about it for the most part. maybe it was because i befriended a lot of people from southern california, more importantly other valley girls. (i wonder now if there was any rhyme or reason to that) anyway, it was not until recently that i have become completely fed up with all the flack people give me for the way i talk.
i came to san francisco because i hated the valley and i wanted out. i absolutely love it here, because it's beautiful, and accepting of all sorts of people, except southern californians i guess. i just don't understand how a group of people who say things like "hella" and "hyphy" all the sudden have the right to make fun of the way i speak. i understand that saying like often, and oh my god, is not one of the most elite ways of speaking, but that is how i learned to speak, and it is in no way wrong. i can't imagine how they think they sound less stupid saying they are "hecka tired" than someone saying they are "like totally tired." to me they sound one in the same.
also for clarification being a valley girl and being a snob are two completely different things. i may have grown up loving the mall, and not wanting to break nails etc, but i have never once been snobby towards someone. according to dictionary. com, a snob is "a person who imitates, cultivates, or slavishly admires social superiors and is condescending or overbearing to others." aka, i think you actually have to be popular to be a snob.just because you are a valley girl, most definitely does not make you popular. (which is a whole different post on its own). so please don't call me a snob. i do not appreciate it.
and just as a last fyi, there are a lot of people from southern california who do not consider themselves better than nothern californians. just some simple folk who want to fit in up in the north and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere.
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