As kids we’re told to tell an adult if we see something bad happening. You see someone stealing? You see someone hurt? Tell. The older we get, the more we are expected to follow the honor code of ‘telling’, but the older we get, we also learn about the ramifications. The person you saw stealing out of a walmart? A woman with a baby at home, that’s been crying for hours non stop because they’re out of baby formula. The person you saw hurt? A man who’s homeless and can’t afford to be in a hospital due to not having healthcare. The older we get, the more often we see the consequences of being ‘honorable’ and while the idea of being a law abiding citizen is good, the society we live in isn’t and therefore the consequences aren’t either. 

So then we start to practice another code of ignorance. Minding your business, see but don’t tell, ignorance is bliss, etc. This in turn has left us without community. So while traveling through the fear of being the cause for someones fall to the fear of becoming apart of the laws that are slowly tearing apart our society, we come to a path that makes us lose our sense of community. Without community, we are slowly being drivin to division. Nobody depending on everyone and as long as you do nothing to or for me, i’ll do nothing to or for you. And according to the problem at hand, this should be a good solution. Right?

No. 

The true meaning of community is about protection. Whether your community lies in ethnicity, where you live, the subculture you participate in, or your family, you rely and trust for them to protect you. Throughout political and societal unrest for over 100 years, a communities purpose has upheld the value of protection. 

In the 1970s, many subcultures had to uphold the idea of community due to societal restrictions. One of the more iconic examples of this, is the punk subculture. A lot of this cultures ideaology was about breaking rules and the previously mentioned societal restrictions. From the fashion, the music, and the artwork, the purpose of being “punk” was specifically to offend public figures of authority (mostly the government) and the general public. The most memorable thing about punks was that due to so many of the UK’s youth participating in such offensive, and at times illegal acts, it was very difficult to stop or put all offenders into jail. This solidified it as a community, as most punks followed the idea of “see but dont tell” and “what happens here, stays here”. 

Black communities used to share the same belief as well. From the slave days till around the 80s, black unity was extremely essential and even though it still is now, it’s very rare to find. Black women tend to have hard times finding unity within black men who tend to be more concerned with belittling black women and at times aligning their beliefs with racist idealogies. The most recent and popular example of this is the case of Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez. Megan Pete was shot on July 12, 2020 by Tory Lanez during an altercation after Kylie Jenners’ party. During the 3 year period that it has taken for the trial to begin and end, many people turned on Megan in support for Tory, although there was overwhelming proof that he did in fact fire a gun on her. To truly put it into view as to how grotesque it was, let me paint it for you. A black woman, whos entire life is publicized, didn’t want people to know that she was dating another famous singer whos entire life is also publicized and in turn was shot. So, in turn she was taken through a three year process of doubt, guilt, and disbelief by the same community that was meant to protect her.

All because they wanted to defend a man who couldn’t take no for an answer. 

Our lack of community isn’t just dividing us as people, but it’s messing with our sense of morality. While we may turn to other people outside our subcultures and ehtniticites, there are experiences that can only be shared and kept sacred by one another. While it may seem like it, this isn’t a call for a hive mind but rather a call for safety. There is so much unrest, whether politically or socially, in our current time and while a ‘community’ may not stop it, it would help to have people, who share your experiences and life stories, to turn to. 

Hi! I’m Burhann, I’m 16 years old, and I go to Buford High School (which is also the city I live in). I don’t have any journalism experience but I have been writing and a lover of reading since I was a little kid. I’ve been in the process of writing a coming-of-age novel for about three years, in which the plot of it has changed a total of five times and I’ve only started truly writing it for the past four months.

Journalism is not the major I plan to have in college, as I am more interested in literature and biochemistry. However, I’ve been in love with the news and media for years, and due to an early and ongoing obsession with Gilmore Girls (Rory specifically), I’ve always had an interest in journalism. Every now and then I’ll get the urge to write about the things around me and whenever I happen to come across a new interest, I express it through my writing. From think pieces about complacency in society and people in power to analyzing my favorite things in media, I’ve always inadvertently had a hand in journalism. Now, I want to become more confident in my own voice and the things that I have to say.

An interesting thing about myself is that I am a frequent lover of all things media, in which I go through phases of. Currently, I’ve been thrown back into my 10-year-long obsession with Spiderman, as Across the Spiderverse came out two weeks ago. I’m also interested in 2000’s – 2010 bands, and softer music in general (The Cardigans, 5sos, Lana Del Rey, Deftones, Leith Ross, and Faye Webster), and lastly a deep dive of anarchism/radicalism (which may have been a direct result of seeing Spider-Punk on my screen for the first time, but is not the only reasoning as to why I’ve taken interest).

Another interesting thing about me is that I love school and learning in general. I believe that by wasting educational resources, we’re doing a disservice to not just ourselves, but our curiosity and society as a whole. This school year, I fell in love with science, or more specifically, chemistry, and realized that I would also like to know more than two languages. Currently, I’m intermediate in French and am attempting to self-teach Spanish with the goal of being language certified in both by the time I graduate high school. I’m also on an all-AP ELA track in high school and plan on being dual enrolled the summer before senior year, with the goal of being able to skip my first year of college.

I believe that there is so much to be learned and with so little time on Earth, why waste the resources and materials handed to us? And while I could write of how the education system isn’t set up to support everyone and is at times set up for students to fail in terms of standardized testing and unavailable resources, this is about me, and I have thankfully always been in places where education and resources are always readily available to me. Due to growing up with immigrant parents who were nowhere near as fortunate as I am, I was always pushed to explore and take advantage of the resources given to me. So when a teacher pulled me aside, in March 2022, and told me that there was a creative writing camp she’d believe I would enjoy, I took advantage of that. Fast forward to today, June 19, 2023, I am here for the second year in a row, but this time to explore my own voice and what I am capable of.