Community Learning

This is going to be a bit of a random post, but it’s been top of mind for me lately… especially during the pandemic. I have been so into Facebook Groups. I’ve long been Youtube’s biggest fan for learning new things and while I still go there first, I now have been finding myself heading over to Facebook and learning even more from incredible communities through groups. Some of the groups I’ve been in for a while and some I just recently joined this summer. This is an incredibly unscientific statement but it does feel like more people are posting… presumably because there are less in-person events/resources happening right now? I don’t know!

As with any online community, you can probably find just as much good as you can bad, so it takes some time to find a group that works with your vibe. Some can be downright nutty or have hundreds of posts a day, so generally speaking I turn off all notifications and even remove it from my feed– I’ll only go visit the group when I have a specific question I want to figure out or need inspiration (or even just a burst of confidence).

I just joined an embroidery group (Brother Sewing and PE Embroidery) after someone recommended it to me on Instagram and I swear after being in there for one week I’ve learned so much already. People are ridiculously supportive and will answer any question. You can post a photo of your project or a video of your machine and there is someone in there who can help you troubleshoot an issue or give feedback for a better project. I’m really grateful that I can ask my mom a lot of my sewing questions and sometimes in these groups (because a lot of the people have decades of experience), I feel like you’re learning from a mom. It’s nice!

Maybe this is something everyone has been doing for years and I’m just super late to the game?! I’m LOVING it though.

I even started a Facebook group for blog readers and it’s so incredible to get to know the community more. I feel like before the Facebook group it was a very 1:1 relationship with me and readers… but I love seeing readers from around the country (and world) connecting with each other. Whether someone is looking for an opinion, advice, or just a little bit of support it’s been so freaking cool to see. (I love it! Come join!)

I feel like there is a group for literally anything nowadays. Any interest, hobby, activity, location, whatever. Sometimes I do think “oh maybe I’m the only one this obsessed with XYZ” and then after being in a Facebook group dedicated to XYZ for thirty seconds I am like, “I have found my people.”