What does it mean to be normal? If you asked me to give you a definition of normal, I would say an average person who does average things. The definition on Google of normal is “conforming to a standard;...

Going into my freshman year, I thought “I can’t wait to do what the seniors do.” They drive to school; they know everyone and everyone likes them. I always thought they had nothing to worry about,...

If at the beginning of sophomore year you would’ve told me we were going to be in a global pandemic by the end of the year and it was going to change my life forever, I would’ve called you a psychopath. What...

I have been raised in a small community with a big reputation. I have been raised in the deepest roots of Appalachia: the place where you can find cornbread and soup beans in gas stations. The place...

The day I was born, I became an ignorant Appalachian hillbilly. I was born to a stereotypical Appalachian family: a generational coal miner and a high school dropout. I have had a particularly diverse...

What makes me Appalachian? This is a very difficult question for me because there are lots of things that make me who I am today, including Appalachia. Appalachian is a small town get together on events. Appalachian...

Appalachia is more than a region. We are more than a statistic, a preconceived notion or a stereotype. We are different from the people in big towns in unique ways. This is what makes our culture so different...

To me, the term Appalachian defines a culture foreign to many others. We are seen as outsiders who are set in our ways, unaccepting to anyone but our own kind. For me, what makes me Appalachian is simple...

I suppose you could say that everyone who grew up in Appalachia is an Appalachian. But for me, it’s more a state of mind, upbringing or way of life. But we all feel differently and our reasons for how...

Appalachian culture is a real and functioning way of life revealed through its arts and crafts, traditional music, traditional foods, its customs, its traditions and its somewhat common language. Traditional...