“It takes a village to raise a child”
-African proverb
I’m sure we’ve heard this saying one time or another. And if you’re experiences were anything like mine growing up you might be thinking “what village and who the hell would be in it?”. However, as we grow older and wiser the village becomes more apparent in our lives whether we take the time to acknowledge it or not.
For those who are unsure by what the village is, it’s simply a community of people that surrounds you, with the hopes of helping you succeed in one or more aspects of your life. For some it’s physical – maybe you grew up in a large family where your extended family is close and you have generations of wisdom bestowed on you.
For others it’s metaphorical – everyone in your village may not be related in some capacity or even know each other.
Regardless of what form your village takes it’s important to know that it exists.
So why is the village important? Well, I may be egotistical and like it stroked more often than others at times, but who wouldn’t want a group of personal cheerleaders, motivators, or wise influencers? Let’s use my village for as an example: 
Above is a chart depicting my village at my most recent stages of life. In the various shapes are groups of people who have provided some sort of support: peer to peer mentoring, professional/academic mentoring, and personal mentoring. Without the interactions I’ve had with the people who fit in these boxes, overcoming my most difficult times may have been impossible. It’s because of four professors I had while at VCU that kept me in engineering, supported by friends and my membership in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). It’s because of one professor and the staff in the Center for Diversity in Engineering at UVA that kept me mentally sane as a new graduate student supported by The Crew. It’s because of advisors in NSBE that I’ve learned every battle isn’t worth fighting and those that are – to do so with grace. And if it all fell apart or never even existed, I have loving and supportive parents who taught me that the world was mine for the taking.
Your village can consist of whomever you want it to be. It’s the people that you keep close beyond your time of being consistently in each other’s physical presence. It’s the people who you look to for guidance and support. It’s the people you cry to when you’re sad and the people who tell you to not give up. It’s also the people who show you the tough love and put you in front of the mirror when the real culprit behind your problems is in the reflection.
These people come in various forms and labels can evolve over time as relationships form.
While I encourage you to reflect and appreciate on those who are a part of your own village, I challenge you to think about whose village you’re apart of. You too are an offspring, a friend, an advisor/mentor, and possibly an instructor, sibling, or significant other of some sort. Just as you weren’t “raised” alone there’s someone else who may be counting on you to help raise them as well.
I think this is a great reminder of how everyone in your working and living environment contributes to who you are and what you do in at least some small way. I think we forget sometimes just how much the people around us shape who we are and who we become!
Great post, Racheida! It’s so helpful to reflect on who our village has been throughout our lives… I especially like your village “family tree”. 🙂 I also like your point about being part of someone else’s village. You never know who looks up to you, depends on you, and values your support.
I have no words – this was a great post. I’ll just leave you with this.