Community

When I was a diving coach last summer at a local private pool, I considered my team to be a community and it relates to Pecks theory. I have around 15 kids on my team aging from 6-15 yrs old. Every summer I have a handful of kids that just joined the team and have never step foot off of a diving board before. Also I'll have divers that have been involved in the sport for years at an advanced level. There are a lot of emotions during the first few days of practice. Everyone there are typically scared/ nervous/ intimidated. I believe this to be apart of Pecks first stage of a community. The kids are trying to get to know each other and make each other feel comfortable without really know who each other are. As the summer progresses, chaos, Pecks second stage of community building, also increases. With 6 yr olds running around the diving well and cliquey teenage girls bossing the other divers around, things get hectic, and everyone seems to test my patience a little too much. This is where the organization steps in, rules are defined, time out area are set in place, and practice becomes a time to improve instead of social hour. It isn't until the diving competitions against other local teams that I can notice our community coming together and the energy forming in a positive direction. After the divers get in their matching team suits, chant the team cheers before the meet and motivate/ support their teammates during and after meet I can see everyone comes to a general consensus that they are a team, they are one. And, as a team you need to work together, encourage other, and provide support, even if it is an individual sport. By the end of the summer, everyone on the team has new respect for each other and new friendships are defined.

7. Target Identity

My target identity is the color of my natural hair. Often people perceive blonde's as dumb, fake, and materialistic. They aren't taken seriously in most professional settings. I have been teased and taken as a joke for my hair color. If I would make a simple mistake, people would blame it on me being a dumb blond, or say I showing the true shades of my hair color. I know this isn't the worst thing that could happen but it is irritating.

The non identity I have is being a white female. I grew up in a neighborhood where the majority of the people were middle class white families. I never had to experience racism where I grew up and I consider my self extremely lucky and privileged because of that. It makes me sick that we still have issues with racism even after all of the progress we have made to change within our country.