Jessie Ede Blog 8

Going back to my first post was painful. I don't say that because it was particularly poorly written or I disagree with anything I said, but because I can tell from my writing style that it just was not me. I try to write how I speak, and that first post was not how I speak at all. I think it reflects my initial misgivings about taking this class and represents a careful crafting of my words and tone to stay an arm's length away. If I were to rewrite that post, the essence would be the same but the word choice would be different. I think the shift in my writing is indicative of how I have grown along with the class. As someone who is not necessarily quiet but most definitely shy, I appreciate how our class has grown into more of a community. I do think, however, that we are not as cohesive as we could be. Within the William and Mary microcosm within our nation, our class is yet another layer. Observing the class, we seem to be split into groups based on the geography of our room - surely an interesting commentary on the role geographical proximity plays in nation building. It appears as though even a room of no more than 40 individuals cannot resist splitting themselves further, all the way down to pairs or trios. I am not pointing this out to make anyone feel as though they are being called out, or to suggest that forced mingling or changing seats is in order. There is a comfort in establishing smaller communities within larger ones, and I think these groupings are natural. The in-class divisions do not really seem to fall upon particular lines outside of where people choose to sit in class, though I suppose it is possible people who knew each other before taking the class sit together and thereby reinforce those friendships that were formed based on interests.
I am going to be up front and admit that I have zero brilliant ideas about projects that are vital to the positive imagination of our community. To me, that wording suggests that there is dissatisfaction with the level and strength of our class as-is, which is something I do not feel. I think the easiest way to make people feel close is circumstances that force them to really work together, but engineering a crisis specifically for SexyRacy seems extreme. In my mind, the easiest way to continue to build a positive imagined community is to keep lines of communication open. So far, everyone has been respectful of other's contributions and engaged in questioning and idea building, which goes a very long way toward this end. I really hope there are classmates out there who are more creative than I am!