The Importance of Community

This weekend my friend Brittanie from GCTS came into town with her family. I hadn't seen her since I left MA in 2012 so we had a lot of catching up to do. At dinner on Saturday evening, she said something that really resonated with me. She said she missed the community at GCTS and asked me if the community at BFA was anything like that.

It sort of struck me that that was what had been missing in my life for almost two years. While in MA, I lived on campus while I was at grad school and had a plethora of friends who lived down the hall or around the corner. When I moved to Germany, my friends were within walking distance of my apartment. So for a total of four years, I was never without a community of friends within walking distance.

Last year when I moved to Jacksonville, I tried desperately to find that same type of community that I'd grown so used to, but in a big city, it's hard for that to happen. I know it will never be like it was at GCTS and especially in Kandern. As I'm trying to find my way around South Florida again, I am yearning to find that group, that community, who will fill this void I've felt since I moved back. And I know it takes time to transition somewhere, but I can't help but yearn somewhat for the days when some of my dearest friends lived across the street from me.