Intentional community is key after COVID

The Greenfire Loft in Colman Hall. Photo by Adam Fleischer.

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Starting college during the height of COVID was scary and weird, but coming back as a sophomore and learning how to re-transition into real life was even weirder, and much scarier. All of a sudden, you have to get out of bed to attend classes and figure out the new systems in the Café and the Commons. As a COVID first-year, Lawrence was the size of Plantz Hall for me. As a sophomore, I had to re-learn how to be a human again and attempt to discover what Lawrence really has to offer as a physical space with physical people. Even as a small school Lawrence seemed huge, and I am sure that others felt the same way.  

I tried different clubs, got a job and started branching out socially – but I still felt as if I was lacking the community that I was hoping for when I decided to go to college. That changed for the better when I decided to apply to live in the Greenfire Loft. I felt nervous since I was shy and not an active member of the club, but applying ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming here. This sounds like an advertisement to apply to a loft, but really what had changed for me was that I had found a space that values intentional community.

The Greenfire Loft in Colman Hall. Photo by Adam Fleischer.

The people who live in the loft chose to live and take care of the space and it shows – the space is (usually) tidy, there’s music playing, people studying and making art in the living room, friends cooking dinner and treats in the kitchen and the cutest cats in the world waiting for you to give them a bite of what you’re having. An intentional community is defined as a relatively small group of people who create a way of life to attain certain goals. For the Greenfire Loft, we have many goals – but primarily to focus on living sustainably and of course, to take care of each other. Intentional community can look many ways, and it’s really up to the group to set goals and expectations for each other. This can come with its own set of challenges: every individual in the community has to have a desire to work towards these goals and participate in the community. This model isn’t perfect, nor is it for everyone, but the idea of living with others who value each other and the living space is appealing to me, and I think it works really well in the Greenfire Loft. I’m so grateful for my community.  

One of the things that Lawrence aims to offer to students is an environment centered around those same lines – a small school with an honor code and a sustainability mission. However, I believe that our generation of Lawrence students is special in that we are facing challenges as a community that come from a loss of traditions and group values during COVID. The juniors and seniors are tasked with creating new traditions and values, and a new community of Lawrentians to pass down to the underclassman and incoming first-years, and I am hopefully optimistic that if we can do this intentionally – within clubs and student groups, with new projects and by enthusiastically participating in community events – this community can be one that takes care of each other and the place we live in, for each other and the Lawrentians to come.