Doesn’t this picture make you want to find a vineyard to hang out at this weekend with some tried and true girls? Or maybe it can be an opportunity to meet some new people who will possibly add a lot of value to your life. Social connections are so important for a happy life. It depends on the type of person you are but I posted an article on the Hopefulist group page detailing how people without adequate social connections died younger than people that had unhealthy lifestyles but still had friends.
I have lived both scenario’s. I have lived like a hermit where my life revolved around the television. And I’ve been in situations where my social activities have been the focus of my life. In fact, when I moved to LBI the first time I met a ton of people within the first few months and my life changed dramatically. I went from sitting on the couch watching other people’s lives unfold on t-v to living my own great life. I went out a lot. I hung out a lot. I made meaningful connections. And oh, I had a ton of fun! This is what I often referred to as the best time of my life and why I wanted to move back to the area permanently. The atmosphere in the town just lends itself to more social situations and activities. For me, anyway. And now that I’m back I have even more friends than the first time around. Much of it due to some Facebook groups that offered some gatherings. But I now consider this the time of my life. I’ve never been happier and much of it is due to the many wonderful people I have in my life.
I have also gone out on my own to experience some things without having a friend to tag along with me. I have gone into New York City several times on my own to see a Broadway show or a taping of Live with Regis and Kelly (that is how long ago it was!) I took an overnight trip to Boston one year on a whim. It was in October and the drive up was filled with amazing fall foliage. I met a group of three ladies traveling together and they took me under their wing. I met them during a tour and hung out with them the rest of the day. They were a great bunch of ladies and really enhanced my trip. We even kept in touch briefly. But if I wouldn’t have been solo on the trip, I never would have met them. Don’t let the fact that you can’t find someone to go with you somewhere stop you. That can lead to meeting some very interesting people.
I worked for a cleaning company one summer who often had young adults come from other countries. I worked with people from Honduras, Russia, Belarus, Turkey and the Dominican Republic to name a few. This was my first experience with people from such vastly different backgrounds than myself. And as you often hear people say we have much more in common than differences. But the interesting thing is learning about other ways of life. Hearing how different some aspects of their life have been yet still having so many similarities to ourselves. This is why I love to read. It’s so interesting to me to read about how other people live when I wouldn’t normally have access to such experiences. So, I encourage you to make friends with people who are different from you. We are hardwired to seek out people who are like us but branch out a little bit and I think you will be amazed at what you can learn.
It is the weekend people…yay! And cocktail Friday of course. Raise a glass to some new friends. Go out and search for some this weekend. Or just look around on Facebook for some interesting groups in your community. The more friends we have, the happier we will be. Now, go make it your best day yet!
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