This post will be a departure from my normal blog posts about athletic endeavors, but I felt compelled to put my thoughts into text.
In 2002, I transferred from Arizona State University to West Virginia University for reasons that aren't relevant here. I had never been to West Virginia until the day I packed my little 1992 Plymouth Laser to the brim and followed another car with a flying WV sticker on it, into Morgantown. This marked the beginning of three amazing years of my life.
There's something indescribable about not only WVU, but the state of West Virginia. To sound completely cliche and quote John Denver, it truly is "almost heaven". After having lived in the desert for 2 years, I think I may have shed a tear when that first fall arrived and the trees revealed the most beautiful natural artwork I had ever seen. And there's certainly something to be said about the people from West Virginia, friendly, down to earth and tons of fun, plus they REALLY love football and beer. I'll never forget getting into an argument with my first roommate, Lindsay over what a toboggan was. If you don't know what a toboggan is in upstate NY versus WV, let me enlighten you. In a tiny little dorm room, Lindsay is searching frantically for her "toboggan". Toboggan as I knew growing up here. I'm thinking and saying, "you don't have a toboggan here, it won't fit in our room. What are you talking about?". Toboggan she was referencing here. You can see why we weren't quite on the same page with this one. Regardless, spending three years in West Virginia and traveling to places like Oak Hill (pronounced O'Kill if you're from there) left an indelible impression on me.
While I did not grow up in West Virginia, or spend many years there, I feel as if it's somehow become a part of me. It's hard to describe, but when I hear Country Roads and sing the words, "take me home", in those moments it feels like home and I miss it immensely. It's not the home I grew up in, or the home I grew to know after many years, but a special place in my life and my heart that will always be there. It's a feeling, a connection that's pretty much indescribable.
So when I watched my Facebook feed and news channels start to report the destruction from the recent floods, my heart ached. My connection to WV lives through my friends, some of whom still live in WV or who's families are still there. Their childhood towns decimated by floodwaters and their friends and families directly affected by the devastation. Places they remember visiting as a child, completely under water.
While the sadness was swift to set in, the stories of community and support that started to emerge from the mud were what I remembered of West Virginia. Brad Paisley brought heightened national attention and donations for the flood victims, by starting a GoFundMe account and raising over $500K. WVU Alumnus Ken Kendrick pledged to match $500K worth of alumni donations. My fellow Chi Omega and friend Chelsea runs the Kanawha-Charleston Animal Shelter. She spent, and continues to spend, countless hours providing food, coordinating and donating medical care and reuniting pets who's families likely lost everything. These are the stories, these are the people that make West Virginia great and make it "home" to so many of us that only spent a brief time there.
So what's the purpose of the blog really? Well part of it, was to try and explain an inexplicable connection that I feel, so in that respect I have failed. I can only hope that you have the same sort of connection to something in your life, so you will understand the feeling. The second part of it, was to hopefully raise some awareness and convince you to donate. I've linked donation pages in the text above. So if you've spent several minutes reading this post, please take another 2 minutes and support the relief efforts.
Thanks for reading & thanks for donating today!
~e
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