Iola High School
Iola, Kansas
Teacher: Loretta Arnold

Communities in Perspective
By Brian Grewing
12^th Grade

Community is one of the wonders that you know exists, but is hard to define.  Community is taken advantage of because it is the basis that makes people who they are and who they are going to be, but they do not realize it.  There are many different categories of communities and they all show us unique qualities.

A community is a body of people that live in a particular area.  Individualism is a strong quality to possess in a community and is the building block to the national community.  Individualism in a community enables one to speak his thoughts and act out.  The Constitution [prevents] people [from] carrying out certain acts, but as long as they are within the boundary of being legal, they should not be told not to do something.  If people in communities did not speak out, the world would be completely different.  If Rosa Parks did not act [on] what she thought was right, African Americans [might] still be sitting on the back of the bus.  If Alexander Graham Bell did not research and express his own thoughts, the telephone may never have been invented. 

Although individualism is a positive attribute, it can also be a negative.  If too many people branch off to do their own things, people may not contribute to the community and it may disintegrate.

The world consists of an infinite number of communities.  [Community is] as small as somebody and a best friend, or even smaller.  A sense of community [among] your close friends [does not happen] overnight.  It takes work and effort to [establish]…a community with your friends.  Work and effort is a must for any community.  If there were no volunteers to help in a community, the community [might] break [up].  A community is what glues people together in their thoughts and ideas.

A community can be very small, but to the [contrary], it can also be very large.  The world community is the community that all people have a part in.  Most people do not realize how they are a part of the world community.  Everybody in the world has contributed to the world community.  NATO is a good example of a world community because many different countries have come together and make decisions together.  Inventors in different countries do not keep their invention strictly for their country’s use; they share it with everyone else to make…lives easier.

Local communities are one of the communities that people are most aware of.  The local community is the people that live around us in our town.  In local communities, people get the basic idea of a community.  While growing up with local communities we learn many things, whether it is in church, school, or even at sporting events.  We learn what is considered right or wrong in the community [and] that it takes work for others to consider us a part of that community.

The community that almost everybody has is the nuclear family.  These are the people that live in our house, like our parents and siblings.  The nuclear family is where we first learn what is right or wrong and what people should expect from us.  The nuclear family community is one that no matter how we act, we are still considered part of that community.  In the nuclear family community we learn what our beliefs are and that we must stand firmly [on] our beliefs even though [those beliefs] may not be cool or popular in other communities.

An extended family community is one that consists of our close family, friends, and neighbors.  Our close family, friends, and neighbors play a major role in the personality building process.  They are those who see us as ourselves instead of seeing us as how we act in certain places or activities.  They are always there for us when we need them and are willing to [help] make us a better [people].   

Our ancestors…make a strong impact on [our lives].  If [people were] descendants of well-known rebels, they may [be inclined] to follow in [ancestral] footsteps....  In other countries ancestors’ lives [determine] how [descendents’ lives] will be.  If somebody was born as a peasant, then [his] child would be born as a peasant.  Another sense of community with your ancestors is meeting for Thanksgiving or Christmas....  Traditions are a great sense of community, for example, my extended family has a family reunion every year, and at that family reunion we have a volleyball game with the family members that are related by blood against those [that] have married [into the family].

A community could…just consist of a group of people that meet to share…thoughts and interests.  One of these communities could have endless possibilities.  I am involved a community with my scholars bowl team.  We meet every week and practice answering random questions to [prepare] ourselves for competitions.

Communities are the foundation blocks that help [us] decide who [we are] and who [we] want to be.  Communities help me learn many different actions and attributes.  It is nice to be a part of a good community and with hard work and effort anyone could have a well organized and good community.

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