Community and Identity

As an Individual, each one of us belongs to a certain community that makes us who we are wherein there is a sense of belongingness and a sense of community around strangers you just met. I am a student that attends a University. I am a Catholic. I am a musician and I have great interest in the Medical field. I am a Filipino who lives in a foreign country. These are the different communities where I belong. John quoted in the article that communities of practice are seen as complex collections o f individuals who share genres, language, values, concepts, and "ways of being" (500).  As a Catholic, I was raised to attend Sunday Mass, attend a Catholic School and learn about my religion and the practices, feasts and songs. I had became a routine that even now that I am grown and can freely choose the path I want to take, I cannot just outlive and forget about the teachings and practices that I grew up learning and doing easily or even completely. 

Now a days, I have noticed that people can easily identify someone especially if they are part of a group/organization which we can also refer to as a community. Becoming a part of one I noticed changes within me such as my beliefs, attitude, manners, language that I use and even my opinion about things. It has great impact to my sense of self as I see myself becoming a different person, more like grown and a person who continuously learning. I think that it made me become a deeper, more mature and more open-minded as a person. I learned to value and respect others more and I learned to love and accept myself despite of many flaws I have. Within a community there is diversity. Diversity does not only include one's race, religion, nationality or culture. Language, field of work, age group, hobbies, interests and more are part of being in a diverse community. Soon enough as I acquire a new identity I may have to let go the part of me who has self doubt on what I can and cannot do. To be able to work in the Medical field, it is important to have self confidence and to bring out enthusiasm as I work with clients/patients. It will not really cost me a lot to assume a new identity, maybe some people will have negative thoughts of me being over confident or maybe they will doubt my abilities but that is when I have to just show and prove to them that I belong in this new community. To be an Occupational Therapist, one must be able to build connection with the people we work with and encounter. In this way, trust is built and those people I encounter and work with may create a bonded community that helps and provide not just physical but emotional connection to the people as well.

Authority may come in different forms such as shift supervisor, managers, area managers, franchise manager for some work areas. Editors to editor in chief, teachers/professors to deans these are some authorities that may be in play. John mentioned that one of the main issue of authority will always be an authoritative hierarchy to set the tone of a community. To have an authority, one must obtain the trust of the people within the discourse community. People within the community must have faith and believes in the capabilities to lead of this authority figure. While to impose authority, one must have the power to influence the people in a way that everyone could benefit from.