"Where are you from?"
A question we hear all the time. A question that will tell you a lot about a person. A question that I always look forward to because I come from a pretty darn special place.
When I tell people I'm from West Virginia, I get a variety of responses. A surprising number ask me if I'm referring to the western part of Virginia. Apparently they skipped a social studies class or two since we joined the Union 153 years ago... The bolder ones who think they're comedians (don't quit your day job) ask if my parents are first cousins or second cousins. I play along and tell them no, smile real big, and prove I even have all my teeth! One girl found out where I was from and simply told me she was sorry.
But I'm not sorry.
Because I get to call such a beautiful, flawed, complicatedly simple place my home. And I couldn't be prouder.
Out of all the states, I think we are the most misunderstood. The shy kid on the playground who they don't take the time to really get to know because they can't see past the secondhand clothes and funny accent. Thanks to the "hillbilly" stereotype portrayed in the media, people think we're backwoods and lazy. While I will admit there is certainly room for improvement, there is so much more to us than that.
I once heard a professor say that when he left Harvard to teach at WVU, his co-workers warned him that he would never find students as intelligent in West Virginia. He told us, "Do you know what I found out? That the people here are just as smart. And a whole lot nicer." Our people are smart and caring and tough. We are no strangers to hardship. Life hasn't always been kind to us, but we always try to show a little kindness. I find it everywhere I look—especially in times like these. The recent floods have brought so much tragedy to this area. People's homes, even their lives in some cases, completely snatched away. But it's shown me the true meaning of resilience. Togetherness. And that if you've got good neighbors and you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, there is nothing you can't get through.
I see this place in so many parts of who I am. My love of Mountaineer football and a good pepperoni roll. My tendency to chat up strangers in the check out line like I've known them forever. I don't know where my future will lead me, but I will always remember the country roads that will lead me home. West by God Virginia. Where the folks play the cards life has dealt them, and they do it with a lot of heart.
