Conjunction Junction a Community’s Function
“Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” That tune still gets caught in my head every time I hear it. Thinking about it more, I realize I have never really thought about what a conjunction is other than an English class term. A conjunction is the act of conjoining, or a combination. But it’s not just for sentences and grammar; it can be applied in terms of people. A conjunction junction is a community. People conjoining in one common goal or interest. They are looking for support from one another. This can be anything from sports, family, geography or even an online game where people interact with each other for a common goal. The function of a community is to conjoin people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
For generations community members have conjoined together to lend support to one another. For example, In the late 1800’s Swedes immigrated to Gresham, Oregon. They would build houses near each other and support each other with family needs and in commerce. As Swedish was their first language, it was easier for them to have the conjunction of language with each other. When I interviewed my eighty two year old Grandmother, Clara, she told me that when new immigrants would arrive, other Swedes in the area would greet them and help them with any supplies they might need. She said “they were comforted in the strange new land by the common histories they shared and the language that was familiar.” As the population grew, the next generation was able to act as translators to English speaking communities and commerce grew from one culture into multiple cultures sharing supplies and doing business together. The smaller immigrant communities conjoined into larger communities to better support each other. Clara stated that “this was most apparent in schools where the children would form their own small school community.” With plays and sports, the children would be able to conjoin their families into the school community. They did this not only in English class, but formed a conjunction junction of support from a school community to a sports community to the larger city community.
As communities grow larger and the generations pass, technology has advanced. Supporting each other within a community no longer has to be a face to face interaction. It can also come from an online community. The internet based PC game, World of Warcraft, currently boasts a fifteen million active subscriber community. With so many people online at any given time, smaller communities form. These appear as guilds. A guild is a group of people who support each other by giving advice, helping with objectives, grouping together to play or even supporting players in game financially. The guild may have three people in it or a larger guild may have hundreds of players. As a member of a two guilds, I have found the support and the knowledge invaluable. Since everyone within the game is obviously a gamer, the judgment of being a gamer is lost. Players can go online at any time throughout the day and chat with other players. They may be seeking an escape from day to day life or need some time to just relax. Other players are also conjoining for this same purpose. In Mim Udovitch’s “A Secret Society of the Starving” her interviewee, Claire, states “But at the end of the day, I can go online and talk to them there, and they know exactly what I’m going through and how I feel. And I don’t have to worry about them judging me for how I feel” (151). This translates to any online community. In World of Warcraft, players are able to maintain privacy in their personal lives and become someone they want to be. Each individual chooses for themselves how much information they will give out. They can choose how active they want to be in the community. I can chat with my guild members about day to day life or ask detailed questions relating to game objectives. Recently, I divulged to my Guild Master that my children were members of the guild. She was so supportive in understanding my need for a safe environment. The guild captains immediately put a monitoring system in place to make sure that players of all ages can experience a good time without negativity. This allows the guild to conjoin in support of one another in a safe and friendly environment.
For those players who decide that a guild isn’t a good fit for them, the internet can serve as a conjunction junction to provide much needed resources and support. A recent Google search for World of Warcraft help brought up over fourteen million results. There is a plethora of information online to help a new player navigate the World of Warcraft. The players have built a community outside the game of web pages and message boards for support. The support on these pages ranges from how to locate an item to how to advance a character a certain way. In “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless” they explore a comedic take on the social network and loss of friends. “Corey “Aqualad” Friesen, 18, of Danville, IL appeared to share Mancuso’s fear about manual and analog socializing. “I vaguely remember trying to make friends pre-Myspace, but in 16 years, I only made three real friends,” Friesen said. “If I have to revert back to face-to-face friend gathering, I would be middle aged before I built that number into the double digits. I’d definitely never get back into the hundreds again” (160). Being a part of a community doesn’t mean knowing someone’s deepest darkest secrets. It is conjoining together to be a part of a community that supports you. From playing a game to dressing a doll, it’s about people helping you obtain your goal.
Obtaining your goal may be just being yourself and conjoining with other who share the same interests. In Shari Caudron’s “Befriending Barbie” she quotes Debbie Baker, an avid collector of over 3,000 Barbie dolls as saying “Those of us who love Barbie light up whenever we see anything to do with her. We love the dolls. We love the clothes. We love the Barbie ‘B’. And pink. We really, really love pink” (168). The common interest in the Barbie Collectors community is not only Barbie herself, but also the clothes, the ‘B’ and pink. In World of Warcraft, some of the traits are the love for video games and the dedication to balancing the online world with the real world. In either community, members conjoin to support one another in their interests. Finding the perfect mint box Barbie Doll to getting a horse to ride in World of Warcraft, members of each community need the support of their fellow members to obtain their goals.
Most individuals have an interest that they want to share or receive support from others. Even if one wants to be isolated and alone, eventually they will find themselves at a conjunction junction. The need for support in daily lives is always present, making the need for communities important. Advancing a World of Warcraft character from level one to level eighty five all alone isn’t possible. Players must conjoin just as the Swedish immigrants did: using each other to communicate, in commerce and in junctions. The function of a community is to conjoin people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
Revised Version:
“Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” That tune still gets caught in my head every time I hear it. Thinking about it more, I realize I have never really thought about what a conjunction is other than an English class term. A conjunction is the act of conjoining, or a combination. But it’s not just for sentences and grammar; it can be applied in terms of people. A conjunction junction is a community. A community made up of individuals coming together in one common goal or interest. They are looking for support from one another. This can be anything from sports, family, geography or even an online game where people interact with each other for a common goal. The function of a community is to bring people together that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
For generations, community members have come together to lend support to one another. For example, In the late 1800’s Swedes immigrated to Gresham, Oregon. They would build houses near each other and support each other with family needs and in commerce. As Swedish was their first language, it was easier for them to communicate with each other. When I interviewed my eighty two year old Grandmother, Clara, she told me that when new immigrants would arrive, other Swedes in the area would greet them and help them with any supplies they might need. She said, “they were comforted in the strange new land by the common histories they shared and the language that was familiar.” As the population grew, the next generation was able to act as translators to English-speaking communities and commerce grew from one culture into multiple cultures sharing supplies and doing business together. The smaller immigrant communities morphed into larger communities to better support each other. Clara stated that “This was most apparent in schools where the children would form their own small school community.” With plays and sports, the children would be able to combine their families with the school community. They did this not only in English class, but formed a conjunction junction of support from a school community to a sports community to the larger city community.
As communities grow larger and the generations pass, technology has advanced. Supporting each other within a community no longer has to be a face-to-face interaction. It can also come from an online community. The internet-based PC game, World of Warcraft, currently boasts a fifteen million active subscriber community. With so many people online at any given time, smaller communities form. These appear as guilds. A guild is a group of people who support each other by giving advice, helping with objectives, grouping together to play or even supporting financially with in-game monies. The guild may have three people in it, or a larger guild may have hundreds of players. As a member of a two guilds, I have found the support and the knowledge invaluable. Since everyone within the game is obviously a gamer, the judgment of being a gamer is lost. Players can go online at any time throughout the day and chat with other players. They may be seeking an escape from day-to-day life or need some time to just relax. Other players are also logging in for this same purpose. In Mim Udovitch’s “A Secret Society of the Starving” her interviewee, Claire, states, “But at the end of the day, I can go online and talk to them there, and they know exactly what I’m going through and how I feel. And I don’t have to worry about them judging me for how I feel” (151). This translates to any online community, including the online gaming communities.
For those players who decide that a guild isn’t a good fit for them, the internet can serve as a conjunction junction to provide much needed resources and support. A recent Google search for World of Warcraft help brought up over fourteen million results. There is a plethora of information online to help a new player navigate the World of Warcraft. The players have built a community outside the game of web pages and message boards for support. The support on these pages ranges from how to locate an item to how to advance a character a certain way. In “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless” The Onion explores a comedic take on the social network and loss of friends. “Corey “Aqualad” Friesen, 18, of Danville, IL appeared to share Mancuso’s fear about manual and analog socializing. “I vaguely remember trying to make friends pre-Myspace, but in 16 years, I only made three real friends,” Friesen said. “If I have to revert back to face-to-face friend gathering, I would be middle aged before I built that number into the double digits. I’d definitely never get back into the hundreds again” (160). Being a part of a community doesn’t mean knowing someone’s deepest darkest secrets. It is coming together to be a part of a community that supports the individuals within it. From playing a game to dressing a doll, it’s about people helping each other obtain their goals.
Obtaining a goal may be mean teaming up with others who share the same interests. In Shari Caudron’s “Befriending Barbie” she quotes Debbie Baker, an avid collector of over 3,000 Barbie dolls as saying “Those of us who love Barbie light up whenever we see anything to do with her. We love the dolls. We love the clothes. We love the Barbie ‘B’. And pink. We really, really love pink” (168). The common interest in the Barbie Collectors community is not only Barbie herself, but also the clothes, the ‘B’ and pink. In World of Warcraft, some of the traits are the love for video games and the dedication to balancing the online world with the real world. In either community, members fuse to support one another in their interests. Finding the perfect mint box Barbie Doll to getting a horse to ride in World of Warcraft, members of each community need the support of their fellow members to obtain their goals.
Most individuals have an interest that they want to share or receive support from others. Even if one wants to be isolated and alone, eventually they will find themselves at a conjunction junction. The need for support in daily lives is always present, making the need for communities important. Advancing a World of Warcraft character from level one to level eighty five all alone isn’t possible. Players must merge just as the Swedish immigrants did: using each other to communicate, in commerce and in junctions. The function of a community is to unite people that share a common interest and provide support to one another in order to obtain an individual goal.
Works Cited
Caudron, Shari “Befriending Barbie”, Latterell 167-177.
Latterell, Catherine G. ed. Remix, Reading + Composing Culture, Second Edition, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010, Print.
The Onion, “MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless”, Latterell 158-161.
Udovitch, Mim, “A Secret Society of the Starving”, Latterell 149-157.
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