Community Reflection

Imagine living life completely alone, like a tiger or snake. No other people to spend time with and no one to rely on but yourself. Luckily, we as humans live together, help each other, and form communities. Making community an essential part to human survival. From the stone age all the way to today, people need each other to survive. Not only did we need each other to hunt prey and gather food, but we need each other’s company and support for our mental and emotional health. Community is people experiencing life together, sharing a common culture, and living within one area. This definition is not to far off from an authentic Christian community, but the only difference is that the presence and love of Christ is shown throughout the community.

In many ways, the position can feel like you’re working 24/7, so to succeed there must be a balance and time management is the key to success. I had a decent idea of what the CL position looked like because I’ve talked to the CL’s in my hall to get more of a sense of the day to day work. However, these interviews gave me a deeper understanding of why they do what they do and the best ways to go about being a community leader. Over the semester, I’ve learned how much faith plays a role in Community Living & Learning and I did not realize the scale of their faith driven mission. My first CL was not that spiritual, so I never saw that side of a CL but now I get to learn what it means to be a Christian leader among others with the same

I felt extremely vulnerable and I was afraid he wasn’t going to be my friend afterwards, but like a true friend, he listened. Just the fact that he listened so attentively brought me comfort and he didn’t have to speak to make me feel important. As Bonhoeffer said, “They forget listening can be a greater service than speaking.” (Bonhoeffer 97) That’s what my best friend did for me and I appreciated it. Our talk brought us closer and gave us a better understanding of each other; it was my first MCC and I didn’t even know it. On the other hand, sometimes MCC’s can get awkward if the other person or yourself isn’t into it. One time I tried to get on a deeper level with my younger brother about life and the upcoming college experience, but he wasn’t into the conversation. I kept trying to probe and see where his mind was, but nothing was working. It felt awkward and uncomfortable, so we decided to play some video games to save that time together. I think recognizing the willingness of the other person is crucial and an aspect I could work on. Additionally, I’m not naturally one to engage in deep discussions with new people, so I think right now is a good time to work on some personal barriers of mine. Overall, MCC’s will be a great tool for me as a future CL to get to know my residents and for them to feel comfortable with themselves so that we can develop a closer