In my ed psych class today, we talked about Maslow. And although his "Heirarch of Needs" doesn't directly fit with ed psych, it does. We are motivated by our needs, both inside and outside the classroom. Of course, we all know that the most basic needs are physiological. I have that covered. And then come "safety needs", followed by the "belonging needs." This I am working on. I've done well I think. I've met people. I have dinner plans this Thursday with Emily and Craig, I have lunch plans next Tuesday with Jocelyn and Thursday with Jess. I'm branching out. But as for actual feelings of belonging, they are slower coming. But they are coming. Belonging doesn't just happen. The problem with community though is that more often than not, it is already established and it can be hard to stitch yourself into the fabric.
As far as esteem and self actualization...that is a blog for another day. :)
This evening I went for a very long walk with a neighbor. The last five minutes we started talking about the very subject of belonging. She shared me her difficulties with networking her way into the gay community. It has been hard for her and she hasn't necessarily found a supportive network. She said she even took the rainbow sticker off of her car because she just didn't feel comfortable having it there. She too is struggling with belonging and safety as well.
According to Maslow, "If one need is satisfied, then another emerges. This statement might give the false impression that a need must be satisfied 100 percent before the next need emerges. In actual fact, most members of our society who are normal are partially satisfied in all of their basic needs and partially unsatisfied in all of their basic needs at the same time." In essence...we are never fully satisfied all the time. This actually brings me some satisfaction.
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