A Good Place

This weeks blogs focuses on what it has been like living in the South, either for those of us who were raised here or those who have just been introduced to the area through our lives at Tech.


Personally, I was raised in Roanoke, Virginia which in my books embraces the Southern "image" and displays many of the aspects of the traditional southern culture. In my opinion, southwest Virgina was the perfect place to grow up and has really made me into the person who I am today. My family and much of the community around me was very focused on the outdoors and an appreciation for it. As a child I quickly learned to appreciate nature through camping and hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains. I also helped to work on the family vineyard and also spent time running around the tabbacco fields where I learned to ride horses. In this area however I was raised in a decently sized city of 200,000 where I was exposed to aspects of city life and the modern suburb setting, but the outdoors was never too far away.

Beyond an appreciation for the outdoors and manual labor, growing up in the South also gave me an appreciation for family ties and the importance of close bloodline connections. Each year we would get together which much of our family for a big reunion and whenever anyone was sick we would always travel as a family to visit them. Perhaps the most Southern image I can present of my childhood was walking along the vineyard with my father listening to him explain that nothing in this world is worth anything (stocks, cash, possessions) except land and that the farm was his prize possession and security in life.


Even though I realize that the "image" of the south is far from the actual lives we lead, I am proud to have been raised in the south among this tradition and culture. I feel that the morals and ways of thinking which have been taught to me are wholesome and good. When I was looking for colleges I did not intend to pick a Southern school, I simply wanted a large school in a large city where I could gain new experiences. The final thing that brought me to Tech was not the academics or research, but rather the culture, people, and relationships which I would find here.

So far I have enjoyed living in the "deep south." The weather is nice, the poeple are kind, and I feel at ease among this culture. Once school is over I again will be open to going just about anywhere and working just about anywhere, but much how my comfort with the region led me here for college, I would not be surprised if I stay in the South and end up raising my family here; it is a good place for sure.

To express a little more about the mountains and culture from which I came, here's a link to a little indi-folk band called Fleet Foxes and their song "Blue Ridge Mountains". The lyrics describe beautiful images which are accompanied by pictures both from the blue ridge mountains and other wilderness areas.

Parker



Blue Ridge Mountains Image courteous of http://www.raggedmountainracing.org.jpg