A Weekend with the Stay Project
- appalbelle
- Aug 5, 2014
- 2 min read
Being under 30 and staying in Appalachia has been thought of for years as a "mistake", we're taught from a young age from the media, our families and even our education system that leaving means you will be successful. A few years ago a group of people and myself decided we didn't like these options and we formed this little thing called the Stay Project. Our hope was that we would meet as many people our age as possible in Central Appalachia and encourage them to get whatever education or training they needed and then return to their hometowns and build the communities they want.
Things took a different turn for me after just a few years of this work when the stress of no longer fitting in in my home community hit me full force. Anyone can tell you that growing up and staying in your hometown is hard enough because of the difficulties of changing your identity from the child version of yourself to the adult one. It was especially hard for me because I was pushing back on the very economy that provided for my family. I eventually gave in, left town and left Stay. It felt too hypocritical to tell others to Stay when I couldn't.
Over this last year though, I've been pulled back and this time the experience has been nothing short of amazing. I'm not back in my hometown, but I'm working closely with people who are. I get to visit often while I work in another state in Central Appalachia. Through this new work I have found my way back to the Stay Project, thanks to the amazing and encouraging folks who kept it going and growing beyond my wildest dreams.
This weekend I decided to go back to the annual Stay Institute, a weekend filled with young people from the region (ages 19-30) talking not just about the issues that face our region, but also sharing the reasons why we love this place. The amazing story telling team that assembled for the weekend deamed it "Appalachian Love Story". Perfection in my eyes. A good love story always has that pull of will it or won't it last? or is this love even worth all the work?
Being a young person in this place isn't easy, but God it's beautiful. How can I feel anything but recharged right now? I just spent time with roughly 40 people camping, looking at gardens, talking while our feet dangle in the pond, roasting marshmellows by the fire and talking about our experiences of what it means to be "Applachian." It is a love story for sure. One that even when it hurts, there's something still so beautiful about it that you hang on because you know that no other love will ever be as intense as this one.
תגובות