I’ve always been curious as to what causes genuine human connection. By what luck did I end up finding these certain people in my life who I can't imagine living without? And what made them choose me in return?

A world of difference sometimes will separate one person from the next. Siblings raised under the same roof grow up with completely different interests. Science and math versus english and art, extrovert versus introvert. How to one, the most “boring” information can be a space of passion for another. What could differences have to do with human connection?

There is beauty in the pattern of humans to hold niche aspects of personal interest. How my best friend must stop at every sign and every bench dedication to read every letter. Or how my brother fills with life when he explains a play in extreme detail that he made in a rugby match. Some of my favourite conversations have occurred on my grandparent’s couch as we discuss our philosophical opinions on the interworkings of life at 11pm. 

The beauty in difference. How much we can learn from each other, from just one conversation. How opposites can attract. How despite the difference, human connection is there in full potential. The notion of human connection is the one thing in this world that is guaranteed to provide some sense of purpose, even just for a moment.

My best friend and I have spent the summer living together, just her and I. In our university city, absent of the bustling energy students usually bring. Despite our opposite work schedules, or that one of us wakes up early and the other spends the late morning hours in bed, our friendship has developed a new form. Once, we were friends just trying to navigate the idea of being housemates. Now, we are thinking of each other in advance. The little “I know you would appreciate this, because I know you well” actions. Our house is filled with the energy that we bring to it, one which fuels our connection to each other. One that cannot be seen, but you wouldn’t  doubt that it was  there. 

When I would go on a date with a boy, I would receive a text from her along the line of: “have fun! And remember how fun, and cool, and amazing you are! I'm jealous he gets to enjoy your company!” And despite the text being short, I would read it and smile. And I would know that however the next few hours pass, with this boy I don’t know, my nerves would start to ease, and I would be fine, because I get to go home and tell her every detail. Because, whatever happens, she's waiting to hear it. 

When I had the idea for this article, I really wanted to explore the beauty of human connection. How meeting someone and exchanging ideas can change your life. And while exploring that, and reflecting on what human connection not only means, but how it looks in my life, I ended up finding the most inspiration in how much I love my friends. Those who were not “given” to me through the links of family, but those I found on my own. 

Sometimes I feel like I am nothing more than a mundane blob. And then my family will use my nickname derived from a childhood event. Or how my brother, notorious for being too cool to care, will call me out of the blue just to talk. Or when I have a conversation with someone, and there will be that excited energy for what the conversation has to bring. And I feel seen. Oftentimes, I think that is what we are all in our own ways, chasing. Through human connection is how we find it. I couldn't be luckier with the people I have so far along the way. 

Illustration by Valerie Letts