Loneliness, a feeling that we all have felt. The feelings of being disconnected in a room full of people. As an out-of-state student, these emotions began the day my parents flew back home on the first day of my freshman year. I was in a foreign place, and lacked community.
I define community as a group of people who center you in your values. When we try to fit in with others, we often compromise on those values or “trade-off” with what we know to be true. Over the past year and a half I worked hard to find a community, and I think that it is safe to say that I am starting to “find my tribe”.
My friends here have been my home away from home. We celebrate each other’s birthdays, accomplishments, and are there to pick each other up when we fall. In January, my suite hosted a paint night to celebrate my roommate’s birthday.
Paint Night!
In December, we organized a surprise birthday party too. Prior to that my friends and I have done dinners, gifts, and really tried to show true love to each other. My friends are my west-coast family, and they are where I belong at USC.
However, my sense of belonging is not just to the USC community, it to the greater Los Angeles community as well. AfricaActive is a service organization that I have been volunteering with for almost two years. We foster a “giving culture” as the founder Nicko describes it, by doing food and supply giveaways at a local park every Saturday.
AfricActive volunteering
I have also been attending a church for over a year now. West Angeles Church of God In Christ(COGIC), has been a place where I made friends, collaborated with the youth department, and found mentorship.
Vacation Bible School Students
By getting involved in the things that I like to do, I was able to identify others with similar qualities, and I am excited to see how some of the relationships that I have established continue to grow.
