So I would like to start off saying that these blog entries are difficult!
Hagen mentioned how "every community needs a town square." This had more meaning looking back on it then I had thought about during class. It all started when I was looking through the Edmonton Archives online earlier tonight, because I was bored and decided not to be creeping around on Facebook. Looking through the pictures I realized, I have no roots in Edmonton. I have lived on the fringes of Edmonton my entire life but my family is not from here, my parents and grandparents will have no pictures in the archive. It just was...a weird moment. We have family photos that remind me of the ones in the archives but none of them are from Edmonton. I have never thought about how little of a footprint my family has left on this city, when some people can trace their roots back for generations. My parents talk about their hometowns and it's awesome, but at the same time it is annoying because I have little information on what their time in Edmonton was like before I came along. This is not something I ever thought about but it actually showed how much I rely on my friends to be my community. It may not be the community that Darrin was talking about, but I think it suits well. My community is made up of all sorts of people, from different parts of the world. Our parents decided, however many years ago, to move to the Edmonton area. I am who I am today because of these people, my community. We all have different traits, we all go our different ways but find ourselves back together again. It ended up making me feel better, knowing I have this community and I hope with their help we can leave a little bit of footprint on Edmonton. If not at least I can have memories like my parents of their hometowns. This probably seems very jumbled so I am sorry that it is, but all of these thoughts sort of came together this way. My community has made Edmonton be what it is to me, has helped me form my own footprint. ^_^ Anyway, I am done rambling now.
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My parents also moved to Edmonton from elsewhere, and while I do feel I have a personal-emotional connection to this city, I don't feel I have a historical-emotional connection to it. I think having a historical connection to a place is really important too. I don't mean that one's family has to have lived there for generations, but that one ought to be able to identify with the history of the place where one chooses to live. I think that's part of what causes one to invest in the place and the community -- invest in terms of money, but also confidence and loyalty. Those are the kinds of investments that are necessary if the community is to thrive.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the thought that every community needs a kind of centre. Although much of my family lives in Lebanon, we do have a lot of family in and around Edmonton. And not just family but other members of the Lebanese community. Because we hardly ever get to see eachother (even though some of us live 5 minutes away from eachother) we meet every month at our community hall in the North side. And it's great because people from all over Edmonton, and surrounding area like St. ALbert, Leduc, and even Provost get together and catch up.
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