Country Roads, Take Me Home
The countdown is on. In just three days, I will be going back home for a short vacation before school starts again, something that I have been waiting for since around July 4. I am so excited, I can't hardly stand it. I actually found myself wanting to pack this morning after just talking to my mother, who is actually going to come up here and pick me up so I won't have to make the journey by myself (it's an 8 hour trip, and not very fun unless you have someone with you). In fact, I did get out a bag and threw some underwear in it, just for my own sake.
I have been so homesick of late that I haven't been able to stand it. This is especially odd if you know me. When I left home to come to school three years ago, I swore that I would never come back, except for major holidays and the like. And I've pretty much kept that promise. I haven't gone back since Christmas of last year. Even then, I went back with reservations. I remember rolling into town on Thanksgiving of my freshman year, which was in fact the first time I went home after living in Williamsburg for nearly three months, and thinking, "God, I want to go back to Williamsburg. This is such a wasteland." And the truth is, home really is a wasteland. It's impoverished, the once lively mining towns have gone to crap, some of the mountains have been lopped off because of strip mining, and lots of people just wander around, not really knowing what to do. There's nothing to do, you have to drive an hour just to get to a crappy mall and movie theater, the only restaurants worth mentioning are big chain outfits circling the crappy mall and movie theater. However, I have realized in my old age, that it actually has a lot going for it. People there are nice, they smile, the word latte is not included in their lexicon, and truly, they have never met a stranger. They know where they're from and they're proud of it. They know that there is much more to life than SUV's and golf courses and retirement plans. And they're happy. What's more, the land at home is beautiful. There are big, majestic mountains with trees and animals and such. In short, it's great. Really great.
The truth is, I don't just want to go there for five days or so. I want to go and stay. In fact, if I didn't just have one more year in school, I probably would. I can't stand it here anymore. Everything is so fake, and just generally wrong. People are just so ungenuine and nobody has any clue about who they are or where they came from. To the average Williamsburg resident, who you are is almost totally identified by what you own. It is miserable. The only thing that keeps me going are the few lovely friends I have made here and my times with them. If it weren't for that, I probably would have packed up long ago, degree or no degree.
Well, ho hum. Now I'm morose. I'm sorry to be so down on the 'burg. It's just how I feel. I know that I'm probably putting a bit of a romantic spin on my home, but really, I'm telling you, if you want to be somewhere that's a little bit dififerent, somewhere that hasn't been totally taken over by the capitalist mentality, southwest VA is your best bet. Perhaps it's the lone holdout for good old American common sense. How sad is that?
I have been so homesick of late that I haven't been able to stand it. This is especially odd if you know me. When I left home to come to school three years ago, I swore that I would never come back, except for major holidays and the like. And I've pretty much kept that promise. I haven't gone back since Christmas of last year. Even then, I went back with reservations. I remember rolling into town on Thanksgiving of my freshman year, which was in fact the first time I went home after living in Williamsburg for nearly three months, and thinking, "God, I want to go back to Williamsburg. This is such a wasteland." And the truth is, home really is a wasteland. It's impoverished, the once lively mining towns have gone to crap, some of the mountains have been lopped off because of strip mining, and lots of people just wander around, not really knowing what to do. There's nothing to do, you have to drive an hour just to get to a crappy mall and movie theater, the only restaurants worth mentioning are big chain outfits circling the crappy mall and movie theater. However, I have realized in my old age, that it actually has a lot going for it. People there are nice, they smile, the word latte is not included in their lexicon, and truly, they have never met a stranger. They know where they're from and they're proud of it. They know that there is much more to life than SUV's and golf courses and retirement plans. And they're happy. What's more, the land at home is beautiful. There are big, majestic mountains with trees and animals and such. In short, it's great. Really great.
The truth is, I don't just want to go there for five days or so. I want to go and stay. In fact, if I didn't just have one more year in school, I probably would. I can't stand it here anymore. Everything is so fake, and just generally wrong. People are just so ungenuine and nobody has any clue about who they are or where they came from. To the average Williamsburg resident, who you are is almost totally identified by what you own. It is miserable. The only thing that keeps me going are the few lovely friends I have made here and my times with them. If it weren't for that, I probably would have packed up long ago, degree or no degree.
Well, ho hum. Now I'm morose. I'm sorry to be so down on the 'burg. It's just how I feel. I know that I'm probably putting a bit of a romantic spin on my home, but really, I'm telling you, if you want to be somewhere that's a little bit dififerent, somewhere that hasn't been totally taken over by the capitalist mentality, southwest VA is your best bet. Perhaps it's the lone holdout for good old American common sense. How sad is that?
posted by Southern Belle at 11:33 AM
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