“Quickly Becoming a Community”

by Caciques Nick Manning and Lizzie Ayoub

No sense of the word “time” exists any longer. Days seem like two, and any social barriers between our newly forming relationships have been crushed by our optimism and spirit as we strive to learn just how well we can define the word “community.” A certain comfort is being reached as each student begins to feel connected, accepted, and wanted. This strong sense of togetherness makes my still fresh experience of this beautiful place seem like an old friend. In every conversation I have with somebody I haven’t met, I feel his or her genuine self, and a unique personality unhidden by social awkwardness. Already I have a wealth of memories that I’m sure will stick with me for a very long time, making what has been one week seems like a month.

Today, the campus calmed down, and everybody’s breathing slowed as faculty and students alike enjoyed our first day off. As a testament to the quickly developing community, no student was left alone. Obviously I cannot speak for every experience, but in a small community such as this, I can notice the total lack of unwanted solitude. As I lay in the boy’s dorm, working on some arbitrary assignment, I saw, for the first time, everyone in the dorm speaking to somebody. All of us were sharing, laughing, and interacting together as we had never done before. An idea was birthed, invitations were given to all of us, and we left for the beach as a singular group, no part excluding any other. It becomes hard to describe the depth of the connection made when intellectually curious people are put in the same building together, but “inspiring” comes close. Living in close quarters with each other, we are able to rapidly strengthen our relationships. Today, there was no singular moment that brought us together, but the strength of our community is becoming palpable, and moving through all of us without exclusion.