Macclenny, Florida

If you are a college student, I guarantee you that there are three questions that you had better get accustomed to, because you will be answering them frequently. They are:

"What's your name?"

"What's your major?"

And finally...

"Where are you from?"

When I get asked these questions, I can tell people that my name is Caroline without getting any strange looks. (That is, unless they ask about my last name, which is Rambo. Then they think I'm crazy.) When I tell people that I'm a Spanish major, some people give me a weird look because it's not every day you meet a red headed Spanish major. But then there comes that good ol' question about where I'm from. I'm realllly from a place called Macclenny, but no one knows where that is so I just say I'm from Jacksonville. But by this point, the speaker usually throws another question out there:

"Where did you get your Southern accent??????" Then I usually explain that I'm from a small town outside of Jacksonville. By this point this person not only think I'm crazy for 1. having a last name like Rambo and 2. being a red headed Spanish major, but they also think that I'm a hillbilly because I have obtained a Southeastern Georgia accent from living so daggum close to the FL/GA border all these years. Let's face it. I'm just a small town girl.....

These past few weeks at FSU, I've been embarrassed about being from such a small town. I haven't had the same opportunities that everyone else has. I haven't seen as much as the world that I've liked to. But this weekend, I went back to Macclenny and all of that changed. I've learned to be proud of the place that I'm from. Here's why.

Macclenny:
1. only has one high school, yet lets its students take college classes as early as when they're 15 years old. I finished my freshmen year of college when I was still in high school as a result. That's more than some of my friends from upscale private schools got from their education! This high school is also packed full of teachers who changed my life and who I still talk to this very day.

2. is the only place where you will run into everyone you know at the local Wal-Mart store. Shopping for lettuce can turn into social hour!

3. is a town where everyone cares about each other. When my grandma died this past Thanksgiving, when I was in a terrible car accident in April, all kinds of people who barely knew me went out of their way to check on me. We're a tightly knit community.

4. is where everyone knows your business. Last spring when I went to the dentist, the whole staff knew who I was dating.

5. is my hometown and will always be special to me.

I may complain about Macclenny. Heck, I might even be ridiculed because of the Southern accent I picked up from that place. But in the end of the day, just as I'm proud 1. to be named Caroline Rambo and  2. to be a red headed Spanish major, I will always be honored to be from Macclenny. Macclenny will always be my home.