Appalachia

Appalachia

What is Appalachia?

For me Appalachia is a place of natural beauty, where the world has barley been touched by the human hand. A place where you can go and relax, to get away from the roar of the city. A perfect vacation spot, camping spot, fishing spot, family spot. Appalachia is where you are no longer the dominant creature but where nature itself is in charge ruling over all of the land. People are here though but not completely, they are widely spread and live harmoniously with nature, kinds of people we would think to be strange or weird. The only reason we think this though is because that’s what society tells us to think because they are not part of society, they are a society of their own. I would not consider myself Appalachian since I grew up and I am more comfortable in a flat land area rather than a mountainous region. OU could improve relations with the region and county surrounding it by really promoting the well-being of the natural beauty that is Appalachia, and since it is a poorer region OU could also help by raising money and donating food for the surrounding region. Both of these is something OU already does in some ways.

After defining Appalachia myself I went on to ask Mason, Eli, and Rosie they define Appalachia.

How do others define Appalachia? Do they consider themselves Appalachian?

Mason:

“I would describe Appalachia as the mountainous region in the Midwest. It is really all natural beauty and a bunch of trees. No, I am not Appalachian, I am a plainsman.”

Rosie:

“I would define Appalachia as the Appalachian Mountain range and the regions surrounding it. No, I am not Appalachian. No way Jose.”

Eli:

“Appalachia, the region surrounding and including the Appalachian Mountains. No, not really. I’m not really from around here.”