Have you ever been at a place in life where you just felt... alone? I know I have. It's not the greatest feeling in the world, but that's why it's important to find a community. Now, this sounds easy, but it can be harder than expected. Though, once you do find a place where you feel like you belong, you see that it was so worth it in the end.

Trust me, I've been there.

When I first began the adventure of college, I had high hopes and expectations. I figured that once I got in my room and settled, everything would automatically fall into place. Life would be perfect. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. As soon as I said goodbye to my parents, loneliness hit me like a freight train. I was in an unfamiliar place, knew about three people in total, and was completely scared of being alone.

I began to freak out, to say the least. I started texting all of my friends, especially my older ones who had been through the first year of college already, asking them if this was normal to feel so out of place. Of course, they all told me it was normal and that I would be fine. A week or two went by, and nothing had really changed. I still felt pretty alone, even if I had a few people I talked to. It wasn't until one of my very wise friends gave me amazing advice. She told me that to beat the loneliness in my heart, I would have to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there. Now, this was actually really hard for me to fathom. I was always the type of person that people flocked too; I never really went out of my way to try and find others. Though, deep in my heart I knew I would have to be the one to go and try to find my place.

Luckily, by the time I decided to give "putting myself out there" a try, Bridgewater had a club fair. I decided that finding a club would be a good place to start finding people who have the same interests as me. I met a lot of cool people from a lot of great clubs, but one stood out to be the most. It was Bridgewater College's very own Campus Crusade for Christ (or CRU for short). Now, this isn't an ad saying that CRU is the only cure for feeling alone, but it was personally where I found a great community that made me feel at home. Everyone was so accepting. The more honest and open I was with the people in CRU, the more I felt at peace. To this day, CRU is a huge part of my life, and I plan on staying in this great community until my time at Bridgewater ends.

I want to encourage everyone, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Even though I found my place at CRU, you might find your place somewhere different. It might be with the theatre club or the hall council. Whatever it is for you, I truly believe that if you take the leap of faith and become open with others, you'll feel less alone and more happy knowing that you found a circle with people who care.

Now, go and find people who are interested in the same things you are.

Discover an amazing community that will bring out the best in you.

Find a home away from home.