I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day, and I was trying to explain to her the sadness I had been feeling the last few days. She inquired whether my boyfriend and I were okay. We are. She continued on with my internship, summer school and so on until finally I summed it up with probably being tired.

The truth is, I’m no stranger to this feeling. Want to know something else? I have trouble pinpointing exactly what the feeling is. Is it true sadness? Anxiety? Whatever it is, it’s annoying. That's right. I annoy myself with my constant state of dissatisfaction. Somehow, no matter how great my life is (which it is— I truly have nothing to complain about), I can’t seem to shake this feeling.

There’s always something.

I ask myself constantly, why can't I just be happy? Why can’t I be satisfied with my, lack for a better work, kick-ass life? You should be thanking your lucky stars, I tell myself. Am I a mental case? Hell no. What lies beneath all of this is a cocktail of uncertainty, societal pressures, insecurity and loneliness. If you dig deep, you’ll find that you too probably experience from these things from time to time.

So fine, I’m lonely. We all are, sometimes, and that’s okay. I don’t have to tell you that part of the reason is the huge shift in the way we communicate nowadays. I can’t complain, social media makes it incredibly easy to maintain friendships with people from all over the world. On the flip side, it’s also creating a disconnect. I can have a friend send me an emoji blowing a kiss when I tell her I’m having a hard day, but nothing beats having that friend around to give you a hug. Striking conversations with people, making eye contact, establishing new friendships— these are all things that I, and many of you struggle with daily. In a world where we’re constantly connected, yet have very little human interaction, of course we’re lonely.

One of many Instameets // via Instagram Blog

I have friends, fabulous ones. I have family, a loving one. But, why do I feel lonely? And it hit me… because I’m not allowing myself to experience things, to explore and step outside of my comfort zone. I heard about meetup.com and #instameet from a friend, and am excited to meet amazing new people through these avenues. You can filter by city, by interest, and best of all, you can learn new things.

Do any of you feel the surge of loneliness? What are ways you combat these feelings? Share in the comments!