What is a Damn Yankee?

Ah, the wonderful world of blogging. I kept a blog for a few years of grad school, but gave it up. I am starting a new one for a number of reasons. One, I am considering starting one for my office as a way to keep up with the twenty-first century and I read several articles that suggested doing one for yourself before you try it for the office. Basically, get in the habit of doing it and doing it well so that if you screw it up, at least it wasn’t for work. Two, a lot of my friends and family have been doing it lately, so why not jump on the band wagon?

I am going to aim to keep my name and any major identifying characteristics out of this. We’ll see how that goes. So, to give you some background information that will hopefully frame and give context to whatever wonderful insight and entertaining tales I will share with you. I live in the South…. The Deep South, as in the land of sweet tea, Spanish moss, great accents and where football is only second to God. Okay, maybe God and country… football is right up there though. Now, the interesting part is that I am not originally from here; I am what they call a Damn Yankee. Someone that was a Yankee for most of their life, moved to the South and stayed. I have been down here for ten years; since I moved down to attend the great university that is my alma mater. So technically, it has been ten years and several months… my how the time flies.

Having grown up north of the Mason-Dixon line for the first nineteen years of my life, I was most definitely a Yankee. I only knew what the Mason-Dixon line was from a brief mention in my AP US History class in high school. EVERYONE down here knows what it is…. All those people who live above it are descendants of the people who launched the War of Northern Aggression. We are actively involved in our history down here. So, the place I grew up at, the Fort for short, is a far different place from the one I live in now. But, I love both and this blog will often have some story or another about what the experience has been like and what it continues to evolve into. I have strong roots in both and it has been interesting to try to hold onto the roots of my childhood, while still growing into my adopted one.

Other things to note about me, because they will probably come up often as a source of a story in this blog. I have several degrees and work in the wonderful world of higher education. After spending several years away from my alma mater, I just returned a few months ago to work in a full-time role. It has been a blast to be back at the place I spent so many wonderful years. I will often refer to it as “the College.” I have the most confusing, yet still wonderful, family. In the grand scheme of things, it is a lot of broken lines and lots of marriages. But no matter what blood they have, they are all my family members and I love them. There is a lot of dysfunction and it actually becomes entertaining to watch after you become old enough to understand it all. My parents are divorced and my Mom and her family all live up in the North, near The Fort. My Dad was transferred to the town that I live in now during my freshmen year of college and most of his side of the family live here. My father is engaged and I am getting a step-sister who is eight. Even though I am getting a step-sister (who I refer to as MG), I still consider myself an only child. That being said, I have the most amazing group of friends in the world and consider them the siblings that God gave me. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. Much more about them to come in future blogs, because they provide endless entertainment. Many stories will revolve around them, the eight million weddings I have been in or will be in from them and the nieces and nephews I am getting because of them!

Oh, I also tend to ramble, have a propensity for run-on sentences and write in a very similar style to how I talk. That is a lot about me for now. Lots more to come with lots of what I hope are entertaining stories about my experience as a converted southerner.