McMillan & Chavis' Psychological Sense of Community consists of four parts: Membership, Influence, Integration & fulfillment, and Emotional Connection. For me, the last component is the most important of the four. It is perhaps what makes community a "community." It is what makes people want to continue membership, influence others, and fulfill personal and group needs.
Little League— Possibly the first Sense of Community I can remember.
Athletic teams have incredible psychological senses of community. I was put in city league sports at a young age by my parents. For us kids, it was at the time, very much based on emotional connection. This is where most of my friends came from. We wanted to play sports, and our parents wanted something for us to do outside of school, so the most obvious thing to do was to sign up for a team. It aligns closely to McMillan's example of the rec team having a sense of community. What made little league memorable was the time spent together with the families. It was more than my teammates and I relating on a loss or win. It was Just by us playing on the same team created this sense of belonging for us kids as well as our parents. We had common goals and interests that made us proud to be a part of the team. There were a lot of "firsts" in those years that made us relate and bond with one another. Blood (minimal amounts), sweat, and tears, right?
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