I have written the religion/theology book definition of community probably hundreds of times over the course of my thirteen years of Catholic education. “Community (underline, hyphen): a group of people living and working together.” It’s funny though; I never fully understood what that word meant until I left it behind. I can’t help but relate it to one of Mr. Arnold’s Dual Enrollment English all-purpose themes: definition by opposition. One does not appreciate light without darkness, sunshine without rain, and apparently community without the lack thereof.
Recently, I received news that a Pedro alumnus and UF student from back home was killed in a car wreck. Though I did not know him personally, a few of my friends did, and it was touching to see what people had written on his memorial page. But what struck me the most was seeing how quickly everyone came together in the face of such a tragedy. It is terrible that it takes the loss of such an amazing, promising, young life to bring a community back together and unite old friends, but then again I guess that is part of the silver lining that God never fails to bless us with. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it, “I have always thought it was a shame that death united communities so quickly. It makes me wonder that, if we celebrated life and never took it for granted, how much could we, as a community, accomplish and improve our way of living?”
I cannot begin to express how blessed I am to call such an incredible place home. I am so grateful to have known such a strong community, and one that is so intertwined. From playing sports together at the YMCA in first grade to cheering for whoever made it to states that year to watching the papers like a hawk each May to see where everyone was going, we’ve always been a competitive bunch. But after all of those years of spelling bees, science fairs, club volleyball, and Bo Clark basketball camp, there are very few people in town who you don’t recognize by sight, or at least know from one of your friends. It has been an amazing experience to grow up with such a versatile group of people, from the kid who raps at St. Augustine High School, and is signing a record deal, to the Burchfields and their sports dynasty. Now that we’ve gone our separate ways, and all is said and done, the ceaseless competition has been replaced by a fierce camaraderie. I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that, no matter where I go, I will always be a St. Augustine kid at heart.
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