By Fallon Head | Web Editor
We think of people all the time. Walking to class, I see something that reminds me of an old friend. During the holidays, I think of someone I haven’t spoken to in years. While doomscrolling, I see a reel about some weird joke that makes me remember a funny story. It happens to everyone, the never-ending game of connections that lead to memories of different people.
I’ve started making an active effort to reach out to people when I think of them. It’s usually something small, like sending a video that made me think of them or simply a text asking how they’ve been.
At first, social anxiety made it a challenge to reach out. I worried about coming off as weird or needy or even creepy. According to a Harmony Healthcare report, 45% of Generation Z skip social situations due to mental health concerns.
The worry of being left on read or not wanting to inconvenience someone can feel debilitating when I try to send a text. Pushing through that often results in stress until someone responds or enough time passes that I forget about it. However, every time I reached out, it ended with people being happy to have a conversation.
When I sent the text to an old friend, he responded, and we ended up having a FaceTime call and talked for hours.
When I sent an Instagram reel to a friend I hadn’t spoken to since they went to college, they liked it, and we quickly fell into the conversations we used to have in person.
I keep up with a few of my old friends by sending funny videos back and forth, with the occasional question about how the other is doing.
The “loneliness epidemic” that has made headlines since the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted in a study published by the National Library of Medicine, which reported that feelings of loneliness were highest in people ages 18 to 22.
Making connections doesn’t have to involve long paragraphs or momentous occasions. Small messages are my way of telling the people I care about that I’m thinking of them. There have been a few times when, after I reached out, it turned out they were struggling, and I was able to be there and help.
The only way to enjoy life is with other people. From briefly saying hi in person to sending a message, video or voice memo to those we no longer see every day, it’s important to reach out to each other and reinstate those connections.
The reason I send half the messages I do is because of some random one I sent years ago, and I’m thankful whenever I get to catch up with people. The worst thing that can happen is they don’t respond and things continue as they were.
Reach out, it’ll be fun.
