Communities are found in all aspects of life. They can be inherited like family, chosen like with a club, or a combination of both. A community is simply two or more people sharing a common characteristic. Every person has their special place in their multiple communities. External factors like the environment and opportunities available must be observed when determining one’s role in a community. There is an ongoing cycle where the community impacts an individual and that individual can then impact the community. Their feelings about the community will be partially influenced by how the community treats them. The breaking of the cyclical nature between people and their communities will ultimately end in positive changes in society.
Communities impact its people through fostering a comfortable environment and providing opportunities for its people to make progressive changes in society. In addition, when a community hinders its citizens, change is necessary for societal growth. If the environment in a family community is positive, then the family members will be positively impacted. For example, when I come home from a horrible school day, I have two loving parents and a sister who will cheer me up and give me advice to make the next day a better one. In this case, there is no need to break the positive influential cycle. Conversely, if a child grows up in a chaotic environment, filled with disorder, noise, and disfunction, the individual may have a greater tendency to reflect negative actions from what they see in their household. A 2012 study conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology establishes a correlation between destructive households and behavioral issues. If a child living in a household with a single parent who works a late shift and has four younger siblings, the individual may not get the support they need when dealing with everyday stresses. If a child can remove themselves from the negative environment, they will be in a more positive situation where they can better contribute to society. In addition to the health of the environment, opportunities shape an individual’s role in community. Time and place vitally influence opportunities. For instance, if a girl was born to a manor in the Middle Ages in Europe, her opportunity was extremely limited, if she even had any, to become anything else than a peasant’s wife. In today’s society, the community has changed since then, so women have opportunities in the school community to allow them to choose their profession and hence, make a different impact on the larger community of a city. More specifically, in the United States, all children, are required by law to experience schooling from age 6 to 16. Mandatory schooling allows for greater exposure to society and thus, more opinions and influence on the community. Positive changes in noncontrollable external factors allow for a vaster input from individuals.
Individuals and communities constantly influence each other. One person’s impact on a community will be different from another’s just as the same community can have different impacts on different people. With so many factors contributing to an individual’s relationship with their multiple communities, it is vital to make the most of what one can. An individual should not hinder a community unless the community’s actions are immoral. The contrary is applicable because a community should not impede an individual’s growth as a person unless they are doing harm. Breaks in the cycle are due to an expression of the modern cultural and moral values. In the end, individuals and communities positively advocate for being more proactive and open-minded because progress in communities can only be accomplished through empathy. When we understand, or at least try to understand, what others are going though, then we can make an effort to solve issues and truly go forward. The simple act of listening to one another allows for all our differences to peacefully coincide. Only from listening will the positive influences of individuals and communities become standard in our everyday lives.