What are you proud of your community for?

[Lady Sabine]

Hey, Iwaku! Here's a bit of positive energy for your day. ^^

We all have those things we dislike about our community. Maybe it's crime rate, or education level, or political stances. Maybe we really don't like how closed or open the community is to outsiders, how old-fashioned or cutting-edge it feels the need to be.
But we all have communities, and there's always something we like about them. Something that just makes us proud to be a part of that community, that we've always enjoyed. There are a lot of different possible communities. Your town, your city, your ethnic group, your neighborhood, your school or work, your state, maybe... even a website, like Iwaku ourselves. ^^ Whatever your community is, there are bound to be at least one or two awesome things about it.

Iwaku, what is your community and what things does it do that make you proud to be included?

 

[Fijoli]

What makes me proud is how dedicated the staff is to making sure all feel equal and included. This is truly what sets Iwaku apart from the rest of the World wide web. I'm proud to be here, Proud of myself for being brave enough to step out of my shell, Making new friends has always been extremely hard for me. I'm somewhat of a socially awkward person, being here makes me feel like I have a place to connect with others that have the same interests as me and remind me that it's ok to bring that inner child out every once in a while.

The Diversity is another reason to be proud of. All of us should give just one pat on the back for that Post we read that pissed us off but we instead chose to ignore it or let it take its course. There is a rawness here that with more people coming in scares me. Alot more members can potentially mean some big changes for a community like Iwaku.

But if there ever was a group of people capable you'll find them all right here.

I am proud to be a part of this place, and intend to be here for quite some time.

Our creative freedom here is unbridled, with very easy rules, and protectors watching over everything. I feel safe and open to be myself for the first time in 25 years.​

 

[LogicfromLogic]

I am proud of having level headed staff and not self righteous assholes. Seriously; on many roleplaying sites that I have tested the waters on, staffers were terrible at acting better than anyone else just because they 'had the power'. Here they act like how they should act. Also, I love how people normally swarm the newbies with greetings.

I love the all around atmosphere here; no drama, no nothing. Just easy going roleplays. And we even have a roleplay institute!

 

[Diana]

My local town is awesome! I hear a lot of negative bad things about some of the people here, but I think that might be the social groups those people are forced to work with, and some of the friends they were around. Because what I am getting from it, is the really awesome Downtown revitalization that's going on in our Main Street, and how they're really trying to promote taking care of our local community and the future of our town. When I first moved here, the downtown park was in shambles and all the business on Main Street were dead/gone and the buildings were falling apart. Years later, our downtown is filled with several super cool new small businesses from little cafes to boutiques to nutrition to a dance studio - and I looove it.

If I was a more life-social and ambitious person, it's something I would love to personally get involved in. o__o But I am a homebody and got my hands full already!



And there is Iwaku, but I dun need to spew my love about it. 8D I do that enough.

 

[Lady Sabine]

Seconding everything that's been said about Iwaku. ^^ I love this place.



As for my hometown, since I might as well answer this myself, I'm really proud of the way we and the surrounding area treat people with mental disabilities. ^^ Just this year we elected a homecoming queen with Down's (putting us one Down's homecoming king away from making national news) which is probably the most blatant example, but not the most important. The thing I really love is how the special ed class at the high school is handled. Testing is kept to a minimum. The emphasis on trying to learn the four core subjects is set aside for a focus on career & life prep, especially for finding them a place after high school.
The employment rate is over fifty percent. Grocery stores, movie theaters, gardening, fast food, computer repair, restaurants... it's pretty awesome getting to see so many people living a normal life. Of course, even in high school it's pretty legit. They take electives with the rest of the student body, eat lunch in the same areas, play games in gym class... most of the school knows at least the more social kids by name. It's their job to go around getting the recycling from around the school, which I think is a pretty awesome idea. I always get sad when I hear about special ed classes that need to be kept segregated from the student body, where no one knows their name and they never get to participate... glad it's not like that in my area. ^^ I would really miss George's hugs when he comes by during my aide block.

 

[Minibit]

I live in a mill town in Northern British Columbia

Because you pretty much have to drive through my city to get anywhere further North, we have the pleasure of being part of Canada's impression on many Americans travelling to Alaska, as well as the odd overseas tourist who comes to see the Rockies, Barkerville, real totem poles, and the mighty moose

Hopefully we leave a good impression; I've always been a service worker near hotels, and it's great to help people get acquainted with the great white north

 

[Kylulu]

I generally don't involve myself or stick around long enough to consider myself part of a community. It's almost as though as soon as it begins to feel I belong, I leave. Scared of commitment, maybe?

I think the only community I can claim to belong to is Iwaku. I am so proud of how Iwaku handles the newer players who join up, making everyone seem welcomed. The site has also gone through some tough challenges, and always bounces back as quick as they can. The staff works so hard to keep everything running smoothly. I have never met anyone, online or off, more dedicated to keeping a place safe and happy. I am so grateful to be a part of it all.

 

[CaptainObvious]

My university has really made me proud (nothing to do with being listed in some of the top ranking Unis in the world according to some lists or whatever, those are stats but its actual life in the uni what makes it special)

Im registered as a disabled student, but the nature of my disability is /tricky/, I don't believe I myself am a disabled person, but due to physical limitations, Im unable to sit exams like teh non-disabled students. Other than that, Im fit as a flea so I dont count myself as disabled. The disability office in my college has been a godsend. From the start they've taken care o my special needs and more!!! When I got back from a hospital appointment and talked to my disability liason officer, my condition had improved and I was really happy and I thought perhaps I could sit my exams like a "normal" student, but that I was scared that I could injure myself or just not be strong enough to do the exam without supports I needed (although I wanted to be /normal/) She really understood me, told me to sit my exams with supports, but reminded me that I could always do the exams like a regular student and not disabled. She'd given me that choice, I sat my exams (and continue to do so) as a disabled student since sitting the exams like a regular student would be significantly harder for me (though no longer impossible) and the disabilityofficer reminded me that even though I need some extra support, I'm only disabled if I consider myself disabled, not because I'm registered as a disabled student on paper.

Its hard to explain but on a personal level, she really got to actually know me and took great care of me. Within the disability office there was moer staff who always greeted me with a smile and had all the time in the world for me. Im so proud that my university could offer care like that, not just for my physical condition, but also in terms of emotional (which she didn't have to).

Aside from the disability office, my individual lecturers have always catered for everyone. The students (the majority, not all though, there are some dicks, as tehre are everywhere) are inspirational. I know in my country in particular, there is a lot of poor people, and college students in particular have little money, but myself and my friends have done fundraising for suicide charities several times during the year and a lot of students are very generous even though they have little money a lot of the time.

There are lots of problems with my school too, like everywher, its not perfect, but, every day when I walk up the campus road, I am happy and content. Sometimes when Im walking along I just stop and get this overwhelming feeling like "I can't believe I am so lucky to be here"