Discourse communities

The kitchen community      

        Discourse communities have a very powerful influence on people. A discussion community is a group of people who share the same interests, goals, and values. My discussion community is cooking. Cooking is definitely more than preparing food and the flavor of it. Cooking is what connects others and brings people together. Like for holidays for example when we all get together and eat. The time when I felt like I belonged in this discourse community was when I cooked for my family or friends, and they said it tasted very good. So getting that feedback makes me feel like I’m improving and I’m doing something good. 

   Feeling like being in a discourse community matters because it might motivate you. When you feel accepted in general, you’re more likely to keep yourself involved in what you’re doing. Not only does it motivate you, but it also helps you connect with others who share the same interests as you. That would allow you to make new friends and build connections. Although feeling like you belong in a discourse community matters, not everyone feels like they belong. 

      For example, I’m a human services major, and I don’t really feel like I belong. The reason why I feel like this is that there’s a lot to know within the major. By only being in my freshman year of college, I feel like I don’t belong yet because there’s so much I still need to learn and see if the human services major is even for me. Or would I like to switch majors to hospitality because I really do have a passion for cooking? Some things that I found that the human services major offers to make you feel like you belong is professional networking and organizations. Join the Human Services Student Association or professional bodies like the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) to connect with peers and industry leaders. Volunteering and fieldwork participate in local, community-based service projects or internships, which foster interpersonal bonding and shared purpose. Faculty engagement Actively participate in class, attend office hours, and inquire about research assistant opportunities to build stronger relationships with professors.

    These experiences show that every discourse community is different and not every discourse community is not the same. Different discourse communities have some different opportunities and they go by things very differently. They also might have different lingo which is why it’s important to feel like you belong in your discourse community. If not you will just feel out of place and not be motivated to be in that community anymore. When I think of a community I think of family. People that are supposed to be there for you and uplift you and a discourse community is supposed to do the same for you and more. 

    But no discourse community is perfect, every group has glows and grows, and if not, it’s probably not a good discourse community group. Every group should have things they need or want to work on so the group can improve in some type of way. Some discourse communities might use slang. which would make you feel like you belong because you know what they are talking about, and you feel included. If you don’t know the slang, then that might make you feel excluded, which makes you feel like you don’t belong and even uncomfortable even. Being in a discussion community made me learn more, and it changed my way of thinking. For example, because I like to cook, there’s no right or wrong way of cooking. Everyone cooks differently, and that’s fine. 

       Being in a discourse community also means that challenges come up. A challenge for me was when I had to do a teach me something video in high school, and I decided to teach everyone how to make homemade nachos in a video, and I had to rewatch the video in class with everyone. That was a challenge for me because I thought I was going to be judged and I don’t really like listening to the sound of my own voice. But I got a really good grade and a lot of people liked my video. I also did a cooking video with my best friend and my teacher liked the fact that I had a solo and duo video. 

    So within my community, I have learned so much, like some of my favorite things to make, which are pasta, seafood, and steak. The reason why I like making these dishes is that you can make them in so many different ways. For example, you can make spaghetti in the oven, then put it in the oven so the top of it can be crispy like baked mac & cheese. Or you can just make it in the oven and not bake it. You can also make steak with oil or butter. There are so many ways you can make these dishes, which is why I like to make them. Which also allows you to experiment to see what you do and don’t like. 

    Overall, I love my discourse community, and it’s something that I definitely enjoy and want to take to the next level. Maybe one day you will be watching a cooking show, and I will be on it. I also would love to be able to try out new things I never tried before, and maybe I will be a part of another discourse community and learn and grow more as a person.