The necessity of belonging to something or someone is a natural human need. It is a survival method. It is a way for confused with themselves people identify what they are. It is also need for attention that person might be lacking. As an immigrant from Eastern Europe I can tell that the necessity of belonging goes to the next level because the process of immigration gets people out of the comfort zone. At the situations when person gets caught off guard makes survival instincts kick in and as an angel guides a person through difficulties in life to a brighter future. The only reason that people are still around is because of their ability to group up and build communities.
Humans are the one of the most vulnerable creatures. They don’t have big claws or sharp teeth to protect themselves from other predators that live on the Earth. People realize that the only way to survive is to get into the groups in order to successfully hunt and protect community from intruders. Belonging to something bigger rather than to be a single individual dramatically increases chances of survival. There are many young people struggle with self-identification. They unintentionally try to find a community to join in order to find their comfort zone and explore themselves.
The community can reshape person’s behavior and beliefs. The need to belong to the community is harmful to the individual because it can ruin the ability to think critically and make independent decisions in life. Humans are social creatures and the need to belong to something is extremely relevant in the twenty first century because people spend less time in a real life and more in a virtual one. People are generally more depressed because they are lonely and they are lacking a real-life conversation with one another. The belonging to the community provides humans with the ability to give and get feedbacks from the others. It is a way to feel good about themselves. Approval that people receive from the others releases the hormones of happiness that have many benefits to the individuals such as: better health, stronger relationship, and the fact that the happy ones are less likely to get into depressions.
Moving to Canada has been a big change in my life. It is difficult to be away from the place that I belong to. Fortunately, Thompson Rivers University has lots of students from Eastern Europe. Having each other allows us to feel like at home. The relationship between my friends and myself is like a wolf pack mentality. The members of my group of friends feel themselves more confident because they know that if they get in trouble people that belong to the same group always come to help. It is comforting for people to know that they belong to something greater than themselves.
