Definition of Success

Interacting with the people of Buchanan County it was fairly obvious that they were not concerned with the luxuries of life. If you drove through the mountains, you would not see fancy luxury cars; you would see trucks because they were practical. You would not see large towering mansions; you would see humble homes because they were affordable. You would not see large pools or patios; you would see a simple deck. While talking to Robert, we learned that before his accident he had planned on working in the mines after high school. He was boasting to us that miners out of high school made upwards of twenty dollars per hour. He also informed us that miners with a significant amount of experience who know how to use the machinery could make close to ninety thousand dollars per year. For Robert this was considered a very suitable living. However, for many people at Notre Dame raising a family on a salary of $90,000 would be considered a less than luxurious lifestyle. The fact is this discrepancy arises from the way we are brought up. I believe the biggest misconception I had before going down to Buchanan County was that all the people we would be helping would be devastatingly poor. On the contrary, I discovered that most of the people there were content with their financial status.  The attitude in the depths of Appalachia is geared toward necessity rather than luxury. The people seemed generally content as long as they had a roof over there head, food to eat, and enough money get them through the day. These people were raised in an environment where there was no need for an excess of income. Thinking now about what we learned about the coal towns and how everything the miners bough was typically through the company store, the attitude makes sense. The idea for these people was never to try and make it to the top or make it big; the idea was to survive. The riches of life were not what they looked to enjoy. These people looked to survive, and then enjoyed what they had: family, friends, and the mountains. They did not dream of making money and moving to the city, or living in a big mansion. “City’s not for me,” Robert stated. “I’m a country boy. I like living out here.” It seemed that maybe these people were more sophisticated than us in realizing what was important in life rather than valuing the material.