Community. The dictionary definition describes community as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
Sure, sounds like a legit and accurate representation of what technically a community is but there's one thing that's being left out that the definition doesn't cover.
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The definition doesn't truly define what community means to people and it's significance in their lives. When we grow up we are born into a community, whether it's small or large. We adapt to the environment and we put the pieces of the puzzle together to form who we become as we grow older. Whether people like to admit it or not, your community has one of the biggest affects on yourself as a person.
One of the greatest things to see is when people come together as one and share a bond like no other and that is the kind of community we should strive for. Unfortunately we rarely ever see this because of the world we live in today with it's outrageous stereotypes and constant loathing of appearance and who looks like what and what person has this kind of money.
In reality, it will be impossible to ever get a large community together to form as one. But as harsh as that sounds, that's what's so great about a small community and the bond people share being in a tight knit community.
Moravia. It's the beautiful small town in Central New York that not many people have heard outside of the area. That's where I live and that's where most of you reading this live or have come in contact with in the past. This place has taught me a lot and has really had an impact on my life moving forward but it still finds a way to amaze me.
These past two weeks have been hard after a horrible accident that put one of our own into critical condition. You've all heard about Dustin Mondics and his recovery in ICU and as we continue to pray and hope that he continues to fight and get better, our community is getting stronger every minute. I am proud of Dustin by how much he has fought to stay with us but what makes me even more proud is the togetherness that has formed because of this tragedy.
Last week there was a candlelight vigil in honor of Dustin and from the time I walked from my parked car to the front of the Moravia High School front lawn, my stomach dropped. Seeing the amount of people and support that was being put together for this young man was unbelievable to me and I've never seen anything like it.
Sure, I've seen the community in huge chunks come together after our recent success in basketball where it seems like our entire community has made the trip to Glens Falls for the Final Four three times in the last seven years, but that is in a time of joy and celebration. This is different.
What I saw that night was a community coming together in dire need of love and support. People were hugging, crying, and singing together to pray for one of our own people and that is what makes a community like ours so special. There were people there that I haven't seen in months, maybe even a year. There were people outside of Moravia who came to support because of the way we all let everyone in. There were people there to sign a poster and donate money to Dustin that Dustin probably doesn't even know himself.
There was a point during the vigil where everyone got together and sang and it forced me to leave because I couldn't handle the idea of it anymore. It's one of our people that is in critical condition. Why him? Why us?
Despite me leaving though, it didn't take away how proud I was of this community, or his friends for that matter. In case any of you didn't know this, the basketball team went to practice directly after the vigil. Can you imagine going to practice after a candlelight vigil for a teammate, a friend that might not make it? Well they did it. They knew that Dustin would've wanted them to keep working and it ended up being one of their best practices of the year to this point.
This led into their game on the upcoming Friday where a giant crowd from the Moravia community traveled over to Wells College to watch the Blue Devils fight and win for one of their own. It was an unbelievable atmosphere and it became even more special when they came out victorious in a tight ball game.
So in case any of you don't understand the meaning of community or don't think it has an impact. Look around. Go on Facebook and see the countless posts for Dustin and the thousands and thousands of dollars raised to support Dustin and his family. Look around.
This community is special. It's unfortunate that a tragedy has to strike for us to come together, but hey, at least we noticed and took charge at a time of need and that's what's special. That's what makes me so proud.
Community. You can define it all you want, but you're never going to find out it's true meaning unless you look around and see for yourself what it can do.
