'Pour some Carmel on me'

So I was in the library the other day when this dude walks by with a shirt that says, "Carmel sucks." I'd like to think he was a radical nougat enthusiast who also happened to be a poor speller, but I'm probably wrong. His shirt was a proclamation against the very city where I spent the majority of my life -- Carmel, Indiana.\nI was born in Chicago (in a downtown hospital that's now been transformed into condos. Huzzah for urban renewal!). I'll always claim it as my home, but I spent the biggest chunk of my life growing up in Carmel. And since I've been in Bloomington, whenever I tell someone where I'm from, they say, "OHHH … Carmel," in that tone implying I have nothing to worry about, accompanied by the uncomfortable and disgusted look convicted sex offenders probably get when they have to go door-to-door and meet their new neighbors.\nWhile most just joke around and don't pass judgment, some people have been genuinely angry about where I come from. Most of it stems from the idea all us Carmelites drive our BMW's to school every day, live in massive estates and go to a public school system that is too good at everything. There was a point when I first started going here where I just stopped telling kids I was from Carmel and claimed "the north side of Indianapolis" as my official home.\nI'm not going to downplay Carmel's reputation by any means, because I really can't. Yes, when you look at the Carmel High School student parking lot, a large percentage of cars are significantly pricier than the majority of those in the teacher's parking lot. Yes, I have friends whose houses are worth millions, complete with four floors, guesthouses, elevators and swimming pools. And yes, we have gold-plated signs officially welcoming you to our "humble" berg. And arguably, that's what you would expect from us Carmel kids.\nBut it's not all biscuits and gravy.\nWhen I graduated from Carmel High in 2000, teachers in the Carmel public school system were one of, if not the, lowest-paid groups of educators in the state. They choose Carmel because of its educational reputation over other close, private schools like Park Tudor and Brebeuf (whose tuitions can rival a semester at IU). I've known Carmel kids who lived in substandard housing and watched their parents work two jobs so they could stay in Carmel's highly regarded public schools. I can almost count the number of minority students I graduated with on my hands. I've watched fellow classmates go through divorce, drug addiction and death.\nComing from a place that skewed the reality of the world, I walked onto this campus with a desire to learn more, to see what I couldn't see when I was back there. While Carmel didn't provide me with the tools to live a full life, it provided a context to live within and break out of.\nAnd I really can't change that. And I can't change anything about your hometown either.\nI'm not here to defend Carmel or attack it, and I'm not here to make excuses either. It's where I'm from. And while my life might have been better elsewhere, it's the place that will be the center of my youth for the rest of my life.\nOn average, there are almost 200 Carmel graduates a year that come to IU, which means there are over 1,000 of us here right now. Not all of our daddies are doctors, and not all of our mothers are trophy wives.\nAnd even if they are, does it really matter?\nRealize that, and maybe you'll make a new friend.