West Virginia Day
June 20, 2008 12:41 AM Filed in: Personal
Today is West Virginia Day
(celebrating West Virginia becoming the 35th
state of the United States), and bloggers in
West Virginia have been challenged by local blogger
Jason Keeling to help define
new stereotypes for West Virginia. I'm sure
we have all heard some jokes about West
Virginians marrying cousins, or our lack of
intelligence, or lack of running water, our
extreme poverty, or a myriad of other
things, but what is West Virginia really
like?
I'll start by saying that I am not a native West Virginian. I was born in Eastern Kentucky. I'll have to start another day for Kentucky bloggers to address the stereotypes for Kentucky, many that are shared with West Virginia. I have lived in West Virginia since the end of 1985, so I consider myself a West Virginian. We moved to West Virginia when I was in sixth grade, and I have lived here ever since. I did attend college out of state (I received a full ride scholarship so who can pass that up), but upon graduation I got a job here, found the love of my life, and have begun my own family.
West Virginia is a great place to raise a family. The crime rate is low. The schools are far better than our national average would have you believe. (Did I mention my scholarship was for academics?) We are patriotic. We have strong family connections. We take pride in who we are and our accomplishments.
Most of West Virginia is rural, and so our way of life here is typically more relaxed than those who live in areas of higher population. Some see this as a detriment. It's true that we don't have everything right within our reach at any time of day or night. However, I see this as a great benefit to family. You are forced to spend more time with your family. You are forced to be creative in finding things to do. You can take time to enjoy the more important things in life. You can take time to smell the gardenias.
West Virginia is a great place to work. Often times, I complain about my commute to work in the morning, but compared to many places across the USA, my drive to work is a walk in the park. There are a lot of interesting places to work, and a lot of interesting jobs to be had here in West Virginia. You could get a job doing anything from river guide to a software engineer working with cutting edge technology, and everything in between.
And who could write about West Virginia and not talk about the majestic beauty that can be seen almost everywhere across this state. West Virginia is home to some wonderful parks. We have one of the oldest rivers in the world that provides some of the best white water rafting anywhere. We have an abundance of wildlife in our state. Our mountains are by no means the largest in the world, but they do provide some great skiing in the winter, and help to promote a feeling of coziness as towns are nestled among the many valleys. We have many lakes and rivers, and ponds that provide great fishing, boating, and a host of other outdoor activities.
West Virginia has so much to offer. It amazes me that such negative stereptypes still prevail. Hopefully through this small, but concerted effort we can open everyone's eyes to this wonderful place.
Happy West Virginia Day everyone!
I'll start by saying that I am not a native West Virginian. I was born in Eastern Kentucky. I'll have to start another day for Kentucky bloggers to address the stereotypes for Kentucky, many that are shared with West Virginia. I have lived in West Virginia since the end of 1985, so I consider myself a West Virginian. We moved to West Virginia when I was in sixth grade, and I have lived here ever since. I did attend college out of state (I received a full ride scholarship so who can pass that up), but upon graduation I got a job here, found the love of my life, and have begun my own family.
West Virginia is a great place to raise a family. The crime rate is low. The schools are far better than our national average would have you believe. (Did I mention my scholarship was for academics?) We are patriotic. We have strong family connections. We take pride in who we are and our accomplishments.
Most of West Virginia is rural, and so our way of life here is typically more relaxed than those who live in areas of higher population. Some see this as a detriment. It's true that we don't have everything right within our reach at any time of day or night. However, I see this as a great benefit to family. You are forced to spend more time with your family. You are forced to be creative in finding things to do. You can take time to enjoy the more important things in life. You can take time to smell the gardenias.
West Virginia is a great place to work. Often times, I complain about my commute to work in the morning, but compared to many places across the USA, my drive to work is a walk in the park. There are a lot of interesting places to work, and a lot of interesting jobs to be had here in West Virginia. You could get a job doing anything from river guide to a software engineer working with cutting edge technology, and everything in between.
And who could write about West Virginia and not talk about the majestic beauty that can be seen almost everywhere across this state. West Virginia is home to some wonderful parks. We have one of the oldest rivers in the world that provides some of the best white water rafting anywhere. We have an abundance of wildlife in our state. Our mountains are by no means the largest in the world, but they do provide some great skiing in the winter, and help to promote a feeling of coziness as towns are nestled among the many valleys. We have many lakes and rivers, and ponds that provide great fishing, boating, and a host of other outdoor activities.
West Virginia has so much to offer. It amazes me that such negative stereptypes still prevail. Hopefully through this small, but concerted effort we can open everyone's eyes to this wonderful place.
Happy West Virginia Day everyone!