Community. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word? A neighborhood? Or maybe even a church? What about family? Can you have a community with your family? My question is: can you not have community with your family? I believe the two go hand in hand.
When I first came onto the race one of the things I was dreading most was living in constant community. I mean, 11 months of sharing things with 5 or 6 other people? Not exactly my idea of fun. I really like my alone time. Beyond that, I was scared that I wouldn’t be accepted or that my community would judge me. I was nervous about being selfish or not loving enough. But really, above anything else, I was most scared that they would hear about my secrets and not want to be around me anymore.
Community is something that had to grow on me. For some of the racers, they love it and jump into it. We mostly call those people the extroverts. For those of us who lean more toward being an introvert, building relationship after relationship after relationship can be a little exhausting. I believe it’s totally worth it, but it takes time.
This is the story of how I embraced community on the world race. Future racers, if you’re nervous about community, you’re definitely not alone.
All the months leading up to the race: We got on google hangout and awkwardly hung out for hours. We posted on each others’ facebook walls and tweeted about how excited we were for the race. I wasn’t even thinking about community.
Training camp: We all tried to impress each other and be spiritual enough, but I know I wasn’t really myself. Even looking back now, I’ve had conversations with people who say that no one is really who they appeared to be that week at training camp.
Launch: The reality of 11 months with these people started to set in, but not fully. Excitement trumped nervousness for me. I still wasn’t ready for community.
Month one and two: We’re still in the honeymoon period of the race. Everything is great in my community! Even if it’s not… just smile!
Month three: It’s the breaking point for me. Community was great for a couple months, but I’m over it. When do I get to go home? When do I get some extended alone time?
Month four and five: I’m starting to love community. What? Did I really just say that?
Month six: I love these people and I don’t know how I’m ever going to live without them!
Well, here I am on month seven of the race. It’s been a process, but I’m still here in my community, only now I call them my family. Community has been such a blessing on the race. They listen to me and care about me. They know my secrets and they love me anyway. They don’t judge me. I’m not always loving, and I’m sometimes selfish, but they understand that I’m trying. We’re all in process and we’re helping each other grow. Community is beautiful.
