Labels

One of the surprises we have encountered living in our neighborhood is how easily we are labeled. If you live in one of the more manicured portions of Macon our existence in Beall's Hill screams bleeding heart liberal. If you're one of the poorer members of our community then we're just those rich, white people living in that big house.

The truth is somewhere in between, and it almost doesn't matter. After all perception is reality for most of us, and Craig and I do perceive ourselves as liberal (but not bleeding heart). We don't think of ourselves as rich; though by the standards that some live in our neighborhood, we certainly are. We struggle at the end of the month like many do, but all of our needs are met. That's not true for many of the inhabitants of the Hill.

Many days I don't want the labels. We reach out to those around us, hoping to create a sense of community, take down the walls of class and color that separate us. It works sometimes.