Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?
This is the first Reverb10 prompt I haven't actually written the night it's released, but the fabulous thing is that's because I was out reconnecting with one of my "communitites" A group of girlfriends and I, who go back 10 or more years, got together for dinner and drinks last night, for the first time, all of us together, since 2001. Some of us are married, some of us have babies, we drink a lot fewer long islands than we did back then, but I feel completely energized after spending time with this amazing group of women, and I'm thankful to have them in my life.
Moving on to the prompt...
Discovering community... I've been online, in one way or another, since about 1990, when I was a sysop for an old-school BBS. My dad installed an ISDN line when I was a sophomore or junior in high school, so I've had some sort of online community ever since... scrapbooking boards, mommy boards, premature baby boards, photography boards... there's always a common interest that pulls us in, but the friendships that keep us there.
But we're talking about 2010 here; not before then, and it's easy to say where I've found community online this year. It's Twitter. I originally joined to document my kidney transplant, and to give my husband a very simple way to keep friends near and far updated on the process... now that the transplant stuff is pretty much settled (Going back to work next week) it's evolved into something different, and for the past few days, it's Reverb time all the time! LOL
Reverb is the first project of this scope and type that I've participated in, so I'm totally the new kid on the block, but I was in awe of the massive community that sprung up, seemingly overnight. Unfortunately, at this point, I still very much like an outsider, even at the Reverb party. I don't feel like my writing is even *close* to the quality of so many of the blogs I read... I'm not making statements that people will carry with them forever, I don't have a bunch of blogger friends that I knew going into this; I blog to keep my in-laws up-to-date on Max; this writing, and this *much* writing is a real departure for me, so I don't really have an automatic audience of readers. I understand this, and know it takes time to get *in* to a community, even one that's as newly established as this, but I'm not giving up!
Communities I'd like to join, create or more deeply connect with? All of them. I'd love to "meet" more people on Twitter, I'd love to develop some real friendships on my local mom's board. I think I want to start going to church again. Jamie and I met at church, in high school, and I really want Max to grow up in a church. It's hard now, with Sundays being our only day off as a family, so it's just not a priority these days. Family cuddle time in the morning and chores for the week are the order of the day around here these days. But someday, we'll find a church family.
Until that day, I'll make do with what I have.
