Ashley Murphy, Blog 1

    To me, the word "nation" is used to describe feelings or sentiments about a community rather than to describe a physical place. A person may only occupy one physical space at a time, but he or she may have connections to many different locations, which gives them nationalistic feelings. Anderson states that there have been no "grand thinkers" on the topic of what a nation is, and I think that is rightfully so. It is a dynamic concept, with synonyms such as "state" or "country", but the idea of a nation itself is specific.
    A nation may be used as a cohesive force for a set of people. To belong to a nation, those who already belong to it must accept you into their community. For instance, even though I am occupying a desk in the library at the College of William and Mary, I would still classify myself as a member of my hometown, Roanoke, Virginia; this could be considered a nation to me. I would consider myself a member of the Southern region in the United States of America, and I have been accepted into all of these places. I am a member of the W&M Tribe; if I attempted to draw a connection to the University of Virginia, I probably could, but I would not be accepted as a member of that community. On page 8, a particular line struck me in Anderson's work; he said something to the effect of those belonging to a nation "willing to die for such limited imaginings". I wondered, would I be willing to sacrifice my life for the good of my city, my country, or my school?
    Nations are built on the foundations of shared ideas, thoughts, and values. In my opinion, a nation is not a physical place but a mental one. A person may occupy only one nation or may occupy several. The ties I have currently in life may not be the same that I occupy later as I grow and have new experiences.