Biological Family? Perhaps not

Have you ever felt at home even if you were miles away from the place you actually call home? Or have you ever made someone feel like they are back to their roots? In a community, these things are possible.

I believe that you should treat your community like your family.

If you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, like I did, your community is treated as your family, friends and just something that you can put your faith in.

I believe that you should treat your community like your family because they are always there to help when you are in need.

Growing up in the small rural town of Harker Heights Texas, I never really had the opportunity to visit a big mall or see movies on the weekend. My free time was spent outside playing from dawn to dusk with the girls in my small neighborhood. Here, everyone knew one another's name, where they worked and especially where they live. Seeing that everyone was in a mile or less of one another, we used to have huge community bonfires every Saturday night to celebrate our week. Everyone just had a tight knit bond. I will never forget the time where a massive tornado wreaked havoc on our small community. The houses that were destroyed belonged to some of our closest friends and family. As a community, we worked together to rebuild and re strengthen our neighborhood once again. I sat in awe as I watched my parents as well as our community friends work together to repair the broken houses.

In a community, everyone is there for one another during a time of need. No matter what happens to the physical characteristics in a neighborhood, the bond in your community will remain strong. Because of this, your community deserves the same respect and devotion that you give your family. They are there for you just like your mother and father were when you grew up. Just like how your grandmother taught you how to tie your shoes. They deserve the same kindness and devotion you give to your family.

I believe that your community is like your family because you share the same beliefs.

In a small community, just like the one I grew up in, everyone shares one belief with your neighbors weather you believe in the same god, the same political parties or even the same flavor of pie. Every community shares a same beliefs. In Harker Heights, everyone believed that God gave us warm weather so we need to spend as much time as possible outside.

In To Kill A mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, Everyone in Maycomb County believes in one thing, Racism. Maycomb county is a small community where everyone knows everything about one another. In the book, the county of Maycomb is fighting against the black man, Tom Robinson. If you lived here at this time and were associated with a black for any reason, you were looked down upon for being a “black Lover”. During the court trial for Mr. Robinson, the whole community except for the Finch's, ruled him guilty because they all shared the same believe, blacks are a burden to society. Living in a community where you share the same beliefs allows the ability to collaborate and the power to work together. Just like your family, you can collaborate ideas.

I believe that you should treat your community like your family because they provide you with a sense of home. When I first moved to Texas, I had a wardrobe full of long sleeves, a thick Michigan accent and a love for the Motor City. At first, we were known as the new kids on the block but we were welcomed with open hugs. Our neighbors even threw us a party to celebrate our move into the community! In American Creed, we met Junot Diaz, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. He originally came to the U.S at a very young age with close to nothing in his pockets. He moved to the state of New Jersey where he knew no ne and was expecting to be treated as an outside. However, this was not the case. His community of New Jersey accepted him with open arms and made him feel like he was back at home. Your community, actually more like your family are there to protect you and make you feel at home, just like your family.

I believe in treating your community like your family because they are your family. They help us when we are in need, they allow us to collaborate on ideas and they just make us feel safe and protected. If you want to strengthen your relationship with your community(which I highly recommend) you could gather monthly or even weekly meetings to discuss organizing groups, events or even just to get to know one another a little better. So, hopefully the next time you are in need, or see others in need, think of your community.