Why is it important to make connections? What kinds of connections are there? 

When I say connections, I mean the kind you make with people on a daily basis. In today’s world, it’s no easy task to connect with someone on a physical level, but there are millions of ways to connect to people via technology and through other media like letters. It even seems that many people are making an effort to reconnect with those that they’ve lost touch with; specifically with family or friends. I believe that making connections is very important to personal development, it can help us gain other people’s perspectives and lead us to various opportunities. It also helps us diversify, get positive outlooks, and promotes our general mental health. 

When I consider the connections I’ve made over the years, the most important of those were made in educational settings such as elementary school throughs you have the opportunity to meet various kinds of people from diverse backgrounds, while also being able to relate with them over shared interests or bond over similarities you each have in your lives. I have met a lot of people who have taught me many different things over the years, whether those things were meant to be taught or not; I gained new perspectives. I’ve learned how to have patience and I’ve learned to stand up for not only myself but others as well. I believe that the connections you make with your peers can last a lifetime, and influence you long after those people have moved on from your life. Our personal experiences and interactions with others help shape who we will become. 

How can the connections that we make benefit our mental health? Studies have shown that making social connections often helps combat lower forms of anxiety and depression. It also promotes our sense of belonging in any sort of community setting, such as a work environment or school setting. Sometimes when we find ourselves in a new environment (i.e. having just moved or switched jobs) there is a high chance of being stressed out due to the fact you have lost your previous social connections or anxious about how to build new social connections. I think that’s definitely true for many people especially in college because college is sort of a fresh start and sometimes everything can feel like it’s happening so quickly; the move, the new faces, the new challenges. When we make connections with others, our ties with those individuals can provide us not only immense happiness but also support and a sense of security.  

In today’s world, it’s easy to feel isolated and disconnected from others. However, there have been many new developments in technology to maintain connections with people such as advancements in online video chats. With the pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe, I feel as though more people are also utilizing social media so stay connected with their family members or friends. I’ve always thought social media was really beneficial to people in at least that sense, I think that more and more people are seeing how important making connections really is; it can be easy to lose track of or not recognize the importance of something like that until we don’t have it. There’s this quote I remember seeing somewhere that said, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” I think that is a very relevant statement in this day and age. We take too many things for granted. 

Where can the connections we make lead us? The connections you make with others can lead you to many different places. Sometimes these places are more symbolic than others, a “place” simply being a new friendship or even relationship. Other times making connections with people is considered a very practical business or career–advancement strategy. In the career sense, making connections with colleagues or other people in your field is called social-networking and presents you with career-advancing opportunities or even just get you more experience in the type of field you’re in. In the more symbolic sense that I mentioned, making connections can bring forth a wide variety of friendships and present you with more emotionally advancing opportunities that benefit your mental well-being as stated previously.  

In conclusion, making connections is very important for our emotional and mental well-being but it is also important because of the opportunities making connections presents us with. Those opportunities can range from life-long friendships to personal growth to even more professional opportunities in a career aspect. There are many ways to maintain those ties to others such as technology like phone calls, texting, social media, video chats, or group chats. What kind of connections have you made in your life? Where have they led you? How has this pandemic changed your way of making connections? As always, feel free to reach out to me through email with any comments or questions you may have or even feedback about today’s topic! It’s always nice to hear back from readers and get their perspective on things. Stay tuned for new articles each week and stay safe out there! 

Demetria Slyt is a Dakota Student Opinion Writer. She can be reached at [email protected]