When speaking about biology, a community is any group of different species interacting with one another in a given area. This is important because it involves interaction among different types of animals, allowing the ecosystem to become what it is today. When speaking about human communities, we obviously are not talking about different species interacting, but instead about different types or groups of people interacting with one another. This interaction can be seen all over the world, especially in modern times where moving across the globe can be accomplished in just a couple of hours, and is especially showcased in the book Americanah. 

At the beginning of her life, Ifemelu, is part of her native community in Nigeria, where she is more or less like everyone else and similar to them in many ways. However, as soon as she leaves, she is introduced into some very new and possibly frightening communities. The first of which is the United States. Now in Nigeria she may have felt a part of the community, but after the move she certainly does not. Regardless of the fact that she is a minority, there are some things she simply cannot relate to or understand, for example, why the word fat is such an insult in America. Its just an adjective, but many times it can be worse than swearing. I would say that in her community in America she is more of an observer then a real active member. She does not necessarily like participating in the community, which involves being called fat in the grocery store, but is forced to because she is physically in the United States. As a matter of fact she dislikes her current community so much that she decides to write about it, and share her observations about it with others via her blog.

This brings us to Ifemelu’s second, and perhaps more fitting community. Now the internet is not a physical place but it certainly can still be considered a community, regardless of what biology thinks. In this virtual world many people from all over the planet with all different backgrounds can discuss and share whatever they please. And this is exactly what Ifemelu does, she shares her experiences and feelings about them on her blog. Through commentating on her current community she has found a new one. The difference between the two being that she actually enjoys being a part of this community, and is certainly a very active member in it as her blog gains quite a following. In this internet community she is a very active member, and is very happy to be that member. This is because the blog not only provides her with a way to get her ideas off of her mind, but allows her to connect with other people going through the same situation as her. Her blog allows her to feel like she fits into her little virtual community, and feeling like she belongs is the key to her enjoying it and being able to enhance her community further.

Although it is only the first chapter of the book we, the readers, quickly become aware of the importance Ifemelu’s blog plays in her life, as she spends nearly half of her opening chapter talking about it, and always relating back to it. However I do not believe her blog is quite the same as the typical blog. Yes it is true that most bloggers write to express their own emotions or opinions, and Ifemelu is certainly doing just that, but it is the way in which she does it that is unique. First I would like to point out that she does it anonymously. The majority of people, at least in my experience, that write blogs do it to express themselves, but have ulterior motives as well. They want people to see what they are saying and like them better as a person because of it, or at least respect them because of the time that they put into formulating and sharing these opinions. Ifemelu on the other hand, does in fact want people to read her blog, but she wants this because she wants them to really hear what she is saying, not to judge her based upon it, hence the anonymity. She writes a lifestyle blog where, as an outsider to the rest of us Americans, she observes our behaviors and comments on them. She writes about the interesting people she meets and the ideas they have that may seem unique or shocking to the rest of us. Furthermore her reason behind it is, yes, in part because she wants to express her feelings about the things she sees, but also because she wants her readers to be surprised by the things she is talking about. She wants to force them to think deeply about the issues she chooses to touch upon and formulate their own opinions about whether or not the things going on in our world are necessarily right and just. I believe this also provides the reason for her blogs apparent popularity. People, especially those in the blogging community, enjoy reading things that force them to ponder certain aspects of life, like whether it is really fair to judge someone by their size and what they are buying at a grocery store, or whether it is correct that a certain minority, as much as we try to avoid it, is still not necessarily on a level playing field with everyone else. Her ideas are unique and thought provoking, and that is the material a good reader is looking for, especially in a blog. Now getting back to what this blog shows about Ifemelu, is that she still feels apart from the majority of American society. As stated previously, she writes this blog as an outsider, someone who is just observing, and therefore not a part of the group. It is even in her blogs title where she refers to herself as a “non-american black.” Through her blog it almost seems as if she is disappointing with her experiences in America because it is not truly the land of equality she was taught of. Diving deeper into her personality, this blog displays her curiosity when it comes to humanity in general, and why we act the way we do, as she is so inquisitive about these topics that she has enough material to organize it into a popular blog. She is down to earth, not living in some fantasy of the American Dream or what not, she sees people for who they are through their actions because, after all, actions are what show a persons true character, and her action of writing this blog, at least in part, tells us about her character.