We all have different identities, different groups that we belong to, and behave differently in every one of them.

Ann M Johns, in her article “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity” outlays these different groups that we partake in. She describes how communities of practice are what distinguish each group of individuals with a common goal or profession from the other communities. 

I had never really thought of this, but we really do belong to different communities and just because you belong to one, it doesn’t mean that it is the only one. 

Johns describes how there are Social, Political, Recreational, Professional and Academic communities. In each one of these, we all participate with different levels of involvement, according to the perceived importance of them in our lives. 

For example, my best friend is doing Culinary Arts in college and my major is International Business. Yeah, we’re opposites, thus we belong to two different communities. I am in school learning about the economy, different methods of marketing and finance, where she is learning new recipes and baking tips.  However, we belong to the same Social Community. We hang out with the same group of people, have similar likes and dislikes. 

We, as college students, are starting to develop our involvement in our “professional and academic communities as we start to network ourselves with peers, attend to extracurricular activities and organizations. 

As we start to assume these new identities, as Jonhs explains, there are some tradeoffs that need to take place. As the saying goes, “nothing worth having comes easy” or as my economics teacher used to say in high school, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” 

So, in other words, we have to sacrifice some aspects of our lives to be able to fully become that identity that we are striving for in college. Some students leave their families, their hometowns, everything that they consider home and safe in order to go to a good college. In my case, I still live with my mother, but I am not able to spend as much time with my family (especially my grandma) as I used to when I was in high school. 

Having to cancel plans in order to be able to go to an organization meeting. Not being able to fly back home for a weekend because of some important event that is going on at school. These are just a few of those tradeoffs that we need to partake in so that we are more involved. 

Just like anything else in your life, these communities and your involvement in them shape who you are as an individual, your identity. They might change your practices, habits and even your beliefs. Being part of the professional world, we need to be more mature, need to be able to interact with high ranking individuals and to make strategic decision making. 

Even the clothes that we wear might need to change. If you are a doctor or a nurse, you will need to trade in your skinny jeans and flip flops to scrubs and comfortable sneakers. If you are a lawyer, your shorts and vans to professional attire such as a suit and a tie. 

This is the way that we start to develop our membership in our desired identities. How we start to feel like we actually belong there. How we take out first steps into our future.