When you think of the state of Georgia, what comes to mind? Probably Atlanta, the Bulldawgs, and Coca-Cola. People from up North might think of sweet tea and country accents, and people from other countries might not have ever even heard of the Peach state.
However, what comes to mind for me is an interesting, history rich city right in the middle of Georgia: my hometown, Macon.
When you're in high school, you're surrounded with people from the same area with similar backgrounds, so when you get to college one of the first questions you're asked by new friends is "Where are you from?" Which makes sense—I mean, it's basically a built-in fun fact that everyone will find at least a little bit interesting.
After being in college for almost a year and a half now, it's been interesting to see the different reactions to telling people that I'm from Macon. I've seen it all from confused looks to a list of people that they know from there. My personal favorite reaction is the cringe.
Over the past few months, the cringe has become the more common reaction, which can mostly be credited to rapper Jeezy's latest video for his song "Where I'm From," in which he refers to Macon as one of the "most dangerous cities in the state of Georgia." In the video he shows various shots of the town, portraying it as a gang-ridden area with danger around every corner.
However, on the exact opposite hand, country star Jason Aldean also released a music video last month. He decided to pay tribute to his high school, Windsor Academy, by shooting the video for "Gonna Know We Were Here" there. In his video, it shows the area as a peaceful small town, with shots of football games and bonfires.
These two very different videos were filmed within miles of each other, both featuring scenes shot in the downtown Macon area.
Is Macon the ghetto as shown through Jeezy's view, or a small town where the scariest rivalry is an opposing football team as Jason Aldean portrays? I guess it depends on who you ask, but for now I'm going to tell you a little bit about my Macon.
At first thought, the song that describes Macon for me is Adele's "Hello," mostly centering around the line "did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?" Well, at least that's how it felt when I was growing up.
On a more serious note, Macon is home. It's the place where I came of age, and my coming of age story doesn't consist of gang fights. Nor was it a small country town with drag racing downtown and high school football as the only activities. (Although I will admit that I never missed a football game at my alma mater, First Presbyterian Day School, a private school in North Macon. Go Vikings!) FPD is where I was prepped to go to college, encouraged to be all I could be, and learned to appreciate all that I have. The private schools were divided up by different stereotypes and they were automatically applied to you when you told people where you went. The weekends consisted of everyone driving around on a road, or as we called it, "cruising the zeb." People were different, but at the same time they were exactly the same.
Fun facts? Oprah Winfrey hosted her "Favorite Things" show there in 2007, and my sixth-grade self thought it was the coolest thing ever. It's the former home of Otis Redding, and it's also where the Allman Brothers Band originated; there are museums and theaters dedicated to them. Along with those are countless other buildings and monuments in the city dedicated to all sorts of different figures.
Macon has a downtown area with rich history, beautiful theaters, a historic university, and a handful of local restaurants that wow me every time. It's an interesting place that I have countless memories of, and I could talk about it for hours.
At the end of it, Jeezy has his view of Macon, Jason Aldean has view of Macon, and I have mine. What is Macon actually like? I guess we will all just have to agree to disagree on that one.
