If you look up “Huntington, WV” on any search engine, you are more than likely going to find an article about death, overdose, or floods in one, if not all, of the top options.

Huntington manages to have its own climate somehow because it will be snowing in our city while the next city over it is 50 degrees. A lot of crime does happen in the area. People do drugs here sometimes. Most people remember the day that I think 24 people overdosed over a period of four hours. I moved into college that day.

So yeah, there are some bad things here, but I am sick and tired of everyone saying Huntington is some terrible place because it’s not. I cannot count how many times I have told someone I go to school at Marshall, in Huntington, and I get negative reactions. People ask me if I’m sure I never walk alone. They ask if I’ve ever been mugged. Someone has actually said “oh, that’s a shame.” And each time I here this, it only makes my love for Marshall, and my love for Huntington, stronger.

Bad things have happened here, but bad things happen everywhere. At least Huntington is working towards fixing our problems. The reports of overdose have slowed significantly. Our downtown area is growing. Marshall even says there are plans to hire more campus police. We kind of just have to deal with the flooding though since we cannot control the weather.

But Huntington won the title of America’s Best Community in 2017. I know you’re wondering if you read that correctly, and you definitely did. We won best community because there are so many good people here. There are so many great opportunities. Marshall is a great addition to Huntington, but it certainly is not the only good part of Huntington.

The downtown Pullman Square area has worked, and is continuing to work, towards expanding the range of products and services they can provide. There’s Black Sheep, which actually started out closer to campus but needed to expand. There’s Kenzington Alley, a beautiful little shop that sells clothes from different parts of the United Kingdom. There’s The Pottery Place, which provides people with pottery to paint however they please. There’s such a variety of goods and activities in the area, and they want to add more.

Additionally, the different service men and women are great. Police officers, firefighters, and EMTs are all working hard to make sure the people in Huntington are safe. The Huntington fire chief, Jan Rader actually received an award recently due to her continued efforts to help save lives of those who have overdosed. Huntington got a donation of Evzio to help overdose victims. Marshall has a policy where students can ask for a police escort across campus if they feel uncomfortable. These are all such great things.

So many people look down on this city and pity my university, and I feel so bad for them. Outsiders see the bad things because, unfortunately, bad news gets more of a reaction than good news does. But I pity anyone who cannot see how beautiful the people here are. Or how beautiful this city can be. Even some people that do live here don't see it.

So you won't understand if you don't think there are good parts of Huntington. You won't understand if you believe everything you read in the news. You probably won't even understand after someone tries to explain it. You won't understand it if you don't live here, but I'm happy to call this city my home.