How do you define community, and what is its relationship to writing?

          The simple definition of community is the group of people that you associate yourself with and interact with, but a community is really so much more. Your community is what you belong to, and even if it never crosses your mind, you reflect your community. All people in a community have some general thing in common, such as living location, or common interest. Whatever it may be, all of us belong to a community.

I believe that one’s community has a profound effect on one’s own thoughts, especially if you grew up in that community. For example, if you’re brought up in a Spanish speaking community you’ll probably end up being a Spanish speaker yourself. Or, if perhaps you’re brought up in ISIS controlled Syria you may not have the fondest mindset toward a structured society, not because that is your own view, but because that is what your community has instilled in you.

Writing is one’s own thoughts materialized in the form of characters on paper, or whatever other surface you may be writing on. The way you think is very strongly based on the community you were brought up in, and the current community you participate in definitely correlates to your current mindset. Writing is timeless. Historians get insights on how societies were from ancient times through ancient texts and scripts from the area. A simple letter can explain if someone’s life was in complete turmoil due to invasion from a powerful foe, or if their entire community was thriving because flood plains brought more water to their farmlands.

All in all, the best way to interpret someone’s thoughts, apart from speaking with them, is through their writings. I think we all seriously take writing for granted, it really is something profoundly powerful.