To... Pro-crastinating... At least I'm a pro at something.

So I really should be researching for an essay. But here I am instead. My good, trusty old blog, that absolutely no one reads. Surprise, surprise.

Well... I guess I wanted to write about loneliness. Kind of how I'm feeling right now. A little bit like a hermit trapped in her apartment, trying to do an essay but wishing she could be talking to someone else. I guess this blog is getting all my chit-chat now. At least you can't talk back to me and tell me that I should be concentrating. And now I'm realizing how very bored my readers would be getting if there were actually people reading this. Sorry - here goes.

Loneliness is insightful. It's sad, and yet at the same time, it allows you to realize the dire need everyone has for human connection and interaction. When you're all by yourself, then there's this instant desire to check facebook, to call your family or friends, to write a letter, or to simply leave your lonely nook and find a friend. Or at least, this is how it is for me. And I think, judging by the immense number of university students on facebook right now, despite it being exam period, that I can safely assume this is the case for others.

It's comforting in a way, to know that we are programmed and wired this way. I like the fact that people need each other - rather than this economic or realist assumption that humans are "self-interested." There's this need in us to connect with someone else. For someone to listen, to understand, to engage in life with us. And that excites me! I am actually dependent on other people, whether or not I like it or want it or ever admit it. I am dependent on them for support, for an ear, for a hug, for a conversation. And that's a bit of a humbling thought.

We can't do things alone in the world. We are never independent. Every successful leader had a friend, a family, a partner, a teacher, a prof, a coach, who pushed them to go where they went, to be who they were, to serve how they served.

There is hope in loneliness. Reach out for the ones around you, and know that the best way to travel life's road is hand-in-hand with a friend.