UNTITLED

Alex Shelton

10th Grade • Chicago Academy High School

Community is essentially a complex system of people, businesses and services that are located in the same area. And of course, as you would think, in such a complex system problems would sometimes arise. It is important to learn how to tackle them to live in prosperity.

Being happy is a choice, and it requires hard work. Working with your community, helping your neighbors, addressing and solving problems your community faces head-on, will ultimately make you, and the community that surrounds you, happier. To put it bluntly, your happiness depends on your community, whether you realize it or not, in direct or indirect ways. The good news is that you have the power to change it. So you better roll up those sleeves of yours and get to work.

Like all problems in a democracy, the solution has to come from the people themselves. People have to awaken to the realization that the community’s problems are their own personal problems. You have to think of your community as your family: It surrounds and affects you all the time. It is especially important if you live in a small community, a village, or a small town (although anywhere you live, the community is important). Those smaller communities are most vulnerable to difficulties and setbacks, both small and big ones. Say you live in a small town with one doctor and that doctor dies, what are the people in that community going to do? Most people will

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rely on others to get a doctor, especially if they’re doing fine and don’t seem to need one at the moment, but life happens. What if their loved one gets sick? If you’re waiting for them to get a doctor, they might be waiting for you. This is democracy, the initiative is yours.

What if your local grocery shop goes out of business, or the owner decides to move? This might not be a problem for others, but it is for you, since, let’s say you really liked the bread they baked and big retailers didn’t quite satisfy your taste buds. So, just as you might not care about the doctor others need, others might not care about the bread you need. But as a community, we ought to defend each other’s interests, or else it will lead to an unhappy, unsatisfied, and failing community, or even worse, a destruction of that community.

But we have to remember that It truly is a miracle that we get to be lucky enough to live in a democracy. Most people don’t realize it, but they do have the power given to them to change their communities and lives for the better. There are many ways you can better your community. You can mow your neighbor’s lawn, help people paint/repair their homes, help a senior citizen, volunteer, plant a garden, or even teach a class at a community center! Or perhaps you’d like to help the needy, the hungry, and the homeless. They would appreciate your help a lot. You can also help out pets and protect the environment. The possibilities are endless, so get out there! Contribute to your community and you’ll be happier.

It also has another perk which perhaps you’ll find interesting — your reputation. Some smart people in the past have used their communities to better themselves. They understood the value the community brings and the benefits they could gain.

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I’ll give you an example. John D. Rockefeller, an oil magnate, the richest American that has ever lived, had used his community to establish his reputation and as a result, attract investors to grow his oil empire. He was quoted as saying, “The most important thing for a young man is to establish credit — a reputation and character.” Businesses get started every day through communities.

Warren Buffett, for example, used his school community to sell Coca Cola to his friends, and later he started a pinball machine business, which he then sold for $1,200 ($17,000 today). He purchased a farm with that money, which he later rented out, and he used the money he got to pay for his college education! His reputation in his community played a tremendous role in that. After all, nobody would want to buy his Coke or pinball machines or rent a farm from him if they didn’t trust him. Both Rockefeller and Buffett would go on to become well-known individuals and one of the richest men in the world, and both of them got their start in their communities. Not bad!

Community is an excellent way to show what one is capable of, and given the power democracy gives us, you can take the initiative and become a leader in your community! You'll learn valuable skills that are useful in the modern world, too. Sounds like a good deal to me!

One last important thing I would like to talk about is the under-appreciation of the essential workers and businesses in a community. I think it’s time we thank them properly, especially during the unprecedented pandemic we are facing now. The ESSENTIAL businesses and their owners/workers are the ESSENTIAL heroes of any community. These include doctors,

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nurses, police officers, firefighters, etc. And of course, efficient leadership of communities is important too. Thank you, I appreciate your work.

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