Last week was the first Student Leadership meeting of the new year. We ate together, talked about our purpose as a team, and met in our leadership realms. At the end of our time together we shared our personal hopes for what we desire to give and receive over the next year.

My hope was to give honesty and receive community. Others said they hope to give their perspective, attention, etc. Everyone hoped to receive community. Everyone. Welcome to 2019, the most connected, most lonely year in human history. Don’t believe me, look at teen suicide rates.

But what if we’re looking at this all wrong? What if our loneliness is in part due to the fact that we only want to receive community? Not give it. Is community a muse that visits when we’ve lured her in with the better parts of our personalities? Or is it something we can create by who we choose to sit by and what questions we choose to ask. What if it’s something we receive when we give?

What if we changed our mindset? Instead of limiting community to a longing, what if we looked each other in the eyes for one second longer than is comfortable? What if we viewed community as something we get to create, not something we hope to receive. I’m reminded of Ghandi’s words, “be the change you want to see in the world.” The dude was on to something. It’s a shame those words have become almost cliche.

We’re all longing for a world where we feel we fit. But maybe, just maybe, the only way we all fit is if we’re actively making room for each other.