ShmoopTube

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Involvement in community... a la Shmoop.

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Let's start with the basics... what is a community?

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It's really just a group of people. They might live in the same place, or share a specific

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value or common characteristic, but bottom line?

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A community is humans interacting with other humans.

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Like in this picture. Aw… what a nice little community.

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Now where are you in this photo? Are you one of these fine upstanding community members,

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always ready to lend a helping hand?

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…You’ve got to be here somewhere…

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Oh wait. There you are. In the back corner there. Let's zoom in.

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Yup. Goofing off and picking your nose.

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Last we checked, that doesn’t help anyone. And you might be thinking, “So what? Why

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should I be involved?”

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And maybe you're right. If you don't need anything from your community, then why should

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you give anything to your community?

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Well, that’s where we come in.

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The problem is that the next time you ask your neighbor to borrow some eggs, or their

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vacuum, or their garden gnome, or their fireplace, chances are you're going to be out of luck.

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Anyway.

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Ultimately, a community is what you make of it. The act of contributing to a community

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is exactly what makes a community.

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No contribution, no community.

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And if you’re still scratching your head and thinking, “So what?”, think of it

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this way: contributing to the community is kind of like making a movie.

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There are a lot of individual parts that need to exist…screenwriter, director, producer, actors…

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But if even one person doesn’t pull their weight, there's really no movie to be had.

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Seriously. Can you picture The Lord of the Rings without the fellowship?

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It would literally be a bunch of shots of New Zealand.

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Not exactly an epic tale for the ages. And sure, your community isn’t exactly The

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Lord of the Rings, but you still have to do your fair share.

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If you help your neighbor clean out her gutters, maybe she'll give you her top-secret apple

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pie recipe.

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And if you offer to do some last-minute babysitting for the couple down the street? Maybe their

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son will give you a few free guitar lessons.

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Basically, put in enough time and dedication to your community, and you may be able to

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borrow that fireplace after all…

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Much to the dismay of your entire community.

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