On the first day of class you were asked to write about your perceptions of Appalachians and the Appalachian region. I asked you to consider writing whatever popped into your head. How might your own upbringing (your race, class, gender, socio-economic status, ability, sexual identity, etc.) have shaped the perspectives you wrote about on the first day of class.

I believe that ones upbringing has a lot to do with the perceptions of not only the Appalachian region, but also perceptions in our everyday views. I’m sure its not wrong to say that everyone is influenced with each new piece of knowledge they learn, or a deep conversation they just had, or even something just as simple as listening to a song or watching a tv show. Personally I have different views than that of most of my room mates, we are all from different areas, we are from different races and cultural backgrounds, the social structure of our lives are different; even the things we do and experience here at VMI are different.

Talking specifically about the Appalachian region my views were different that some of what were written on the board the first day of class; when I gave my perception of hippies being from the area I got a few surprised looks. I have that perception of the culture because I have friends that go to Appalachian State and when I have visited Boone in the past i have always noticed some people who dress like hipsters and have also seen some cultural aspects of hipsters. I am also familiar with moonshine being made in the region. I think its fair to say that moonshine is a popular perception of the culture but being that my family has a lake house in Franklin County Virginia, also known as the moonshine capital of the world, I have seen it first hand numerous times. I’ve seen how easy it is to get a jar of “white lightning” and just how different of an area Franklin County is compared to that of Raleigh, NC where I live.