Calvert Hall College High School
Baltimore, Maryland
Teacher: George Kropp  

Community as the Basis of Life
By Ryan Cordell
11^th Grade

People talk about today’s world moving away from a community-centered culture. One of the tougher things to do is to describe community since it is very different everywhere one may go. A community is a group of people with something in common. This could be a location, a religion, a school, or another social group. When one thinks of a community, the most common image is the image of the neighborhood. No matter what the community is, the basic unit is the family.  The family is the core group that teaches its offspring the standards of society and shows them how to survive. The community is the next step towards being released into society. It is usually the first interaction that human beings have with people that are not part of their family.  This allows people to gain insight into others' lives and habits.  The community allows a people to begin to realize who they are through interactions with other people. This learning is ambiguous because if one is...in a bad community, then they have a good chance of decaying as a person, and if they are in a good community, they have a large chance of growth. Therefore a general definition can be reached. Community is a group of people with a common trait that allow people to grow or decay caused by the different conditions present in the certain common area.

My community is very important to me, because it has provided a very high-quality environment to prosper in and [allows me to] help others. My community [has] played an important role in [molding me into] the person that I am today. When I was a young child I had a very bad temper and was arrogant. The community helped to humble me and calm me down so that I could be a better person.  I [feel more] compassionate.  These feelings might not always be there, but everyone knows that feeling of comfort and relief to turn the corner and be back in their neighborhood and [own] home after a long trip. That is what community does. It welcomes you no matter where or how long you have been gone. Also, I am the oldest boy living in my cul-de-sac so therefore, I am a role model to all of the younger boys in the cul-de-sac.  This makes me feel like their big brother. This connection is very important to me because it allows me to show my neighbors how to be good people. This is especially true for my next door neighbors. There are two boys whose parents are divorced; therefore I am the only older male influence that they interact with on a daily basis. This involves a lot of trust, responsibility, commitment, and integrity. If these boys were to see me do things the wrong way, chances are that they will begin to do that same thing. It is a perfect example of how a community is so interdependent.  If one person falters, it affects every single part of the community as a whole.

Within that local community is the family, both blood relatives, and distant relatives. These are the people that are there for you no matter what stupid mistakes you do. They love you unconditionally which adds a great deal of comfort. My family has been invaluable. Without them I would not be anywhere close to the man that I am today. They taught me the correct ways to do everything. They always have my best interests in mind, and will sacrifice anything for me so that I might have a better life.

My ancestors are also very important to me because I believe that no one can move into the future without first knowing their past.  I love to hear the stories that are told of the past and my great great grandparents, my grandparents that I have never met, and even my relatives that were present at the time of the American Revolution.  This sense of the past helps me to realize what my family has gone through to get to this point. It also gives me people to look to and be like if they could do it so can I.

My friends have also been very important in my life. When I moved to my current house, I was placed in an unfamiliar day care with many people that I did not know, but I met a boy and we became best friends.  We grew up together and are still close friends today. This friendship has overcome us being in different schools, each of us moving, and many other obstacles. These friends help to build a support system that I can lean back on whenever I am in need. These friends have also taught me a lot about life, and how it is best to be humble and quieter because it will get you a lot farther than boastfulness.

Finally, there are the national and world communities. These help to broadly define who you are as a person. I am an American, and a human being.  These communities are not the most forgiving at times, but allow the most interaction with people. This interaction allows me to find who I am, where I want to go and where I do not want to go.

Community is a vital component of human life.  The human being is a social creature and needs interaction to find out who they are, and find their place in the world. Although these communities vary in size, they each have the same sort of effects and purposes.

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