I don't consider myself an outsider these days, as I spend most of my time in the region for school, but comparatively, I am an outsider for all practical purposes of this article. In middle school when learning about United States history, I remember briefly touching upon the Appalachian (APP-UH-LAY-SHUN) mountains, or as a fellow student pronounced it, the "Apple Chain mountains". I did not touch upon the region again, to my recollection, until my senior year of high school when I was presented with the option of attending college in Appalachia. I was not sure what to think, as I was continually presented with images of people lacking teeth that sat on porches playing banjos and were inherently racist. So when I came here for a college visit, I was certain this was a place to be avoided altogether. You can imagine my surprise when I arrived here in the middle of spring and stepped off the plane to see everything in bloom and a hillside made of vibrant green trees. It was the first sign that this would be the first of many pleasant surprises in this great region.

Appalachia is an untouched land, almost frozen in time. This is a place where, for better or worse, not much changes overnight. Life moves slowly, but that is not to say the people do. These are some of the wisest people you will ever meet, and I think in part it is because they are not distracted with the hustle and bustle of a large city. After all, haste makes waste. Sometimes when you rush to get somewhere you miss the little things along the way, and that is something, I think, Appalachians take more time to note than anyone else.

I have never been somewhere so immersed in the history of our nation. Appalachia was involved in the Civil War, and to an extent it was a reluctant involvement. Saltville was a main location of salt preserves for the Confederacy. However, many in the area were reluctant to fight for the Confederacy, as that meant they were fighting for those in the deep south with plantations to stay rich, and fighting for the union meant fighting for a group of people ready to take advantage of their situation. The effects of the Civil War are still felt in Appalachia, and as a result it is a historically poor region of the country that has never recovered from the reparations resulting from the Civil War. This means that something as little as going to the dentist or doctor, something many of us take for granted, is not always the most accessible for everyone. This of course is not to say that all of the people of Appalachia are walking around missing teeth. That would be an incredibly small minded, and offensive assumption on your part.

Although it may be poor economically, this is a region that makes up for it in culture. Have you ever seen large groups of people clogging to Appalachian music? It's pretty neat to see. I will go as far as saying moonshine creation and running has added to the culture and vitality of this region. Appalachia, central Appalachia specifically, is encapsulated in a bubble due to its remote location that has allowed it to grow culturally independent from most of the country. It is a uniqueness that adds to the flavor of the culture that is Appalachia.

There's not much diversity, but it's not racist in nature. I was a little nervous when I arrived because there were not many people that looked like me. I have had people come up to me and ask me my nationality because they wanted to know why I was brown. This used to offend me a good deal until it was pointed out to me that this was not an intentionally offensive question, but rather, was innocent in nature because they simply did not come into contact with many races due to the isolated nature of the region and were curious. There are racists here. There are racists everywhere.

I think the biggest mistake you could possibly make with Appalachia is to come in and want to change it. What makes this place so unique and wonderful, I have come to find, is the fact that it has been left alone. To want to change it would mean a disregard and lack of respect for the beauty that is Appalachia.

If I could leave you with some form of advice regarding the region it would be this: for God's sake, it is pronounced APP-UH-LATCH-UH - no ifs, ands or buts about that one. Do not try to argue that, it will only offend everyone around you. Just accept that you were taught the incorrect pronunciation and move on, it will save you the energy of arguing otherwise. Would you go up to someone from San Francisco and refer to their city as "Frisco", and proceed to tell them they were wrong for finding that term offensive? No? Then I would proceed with the same caution regarding Appalachia.