how to find community

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, an 18 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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btw, feel free to reply with topic ideas you want me to write about for future posts.

onto today’s topic: how to find community 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 

i’ve gotten this question a few times: how do you find community and friends in a completely new space?

i moved to the bay this month without really knowing many people personally. i knew of people, but never really spoke to them. i think that by itself is a really great starting point — if you know of people there, just ask to meet up.

what are they gonna say? no? alright, then onto the next. 🚶‍♂️ 

it helps to be part of global online communities, because there will always be people everywhere. i was able to meetup with someone from an online volunteering group i was part of in grade 9 because i remembered she goes to school in the bay. the thing is, i never really talked to her before but we had a great time getting boba and just chatting.

community isn’t going to find you, it’s up to you to craft one by yourself. unlike friend groups, each friendship doesn’t have to be intertwined. it can be a mix of friendships and connections scattered all over the place. it’s your community after all. ⭐️ 

i have begun crafting my own sf community by challenging myself to get out of my social comfort zone, and it’s definitely a work in progress. just small things like helping a group of girls carry their japanese drumming stands to their club room or infiltrating a uc berkeley cs class and introducing myself makes a huge difference.

i’m also reminding myself that community isn’t a numbers game. i don’t have to keep trying to grow my circle. i’ve learned that it’s completely fine to not click with someone — you don’t have to force a friendship out of every human interaction.

on that note, i’m keeping my community back home tight as well. i literally have scheduled facetime calls with my besties, call my family every day & keep my instagram popping. 😋 

finding a community is a lot about putting yourself out there and piecing together different relationships and less about trying to find the perfect preexisting space.

i’m having a lot of fun loving people, life and spontaneity lately — it sets the stage for a lot of meaningful relationships.

would you say you have a community?

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