Kylie Grunsfeld, Opinions & Humor Editor
A flyer slapped together on Canva, a couple family-sized bags of chips on the counter and a playlist of early 2000s hits. You do not need much more than that to host the party of the year.
When I was a first-year student living in GRC, my dorm was the dorm of choice for my friends and I to gather in. I did not have much to offer besides a couple square feet of space, but it was important to me that there was a place for us to gather — play cards, do homework or just talk. What we were doing did not matter so long as we were in each other’s company.
In my second year, despite living in a dorm I hated with leaks in the ceiling and cockroaches in the kitchen (shoutout Cary and Belvidere,) my roommates and I still invited people over whenever we could. Having friends in our place transformed it.
I once had an idea to host a poetry and music night, so I called on some friends and asked if I could use their apartment. What transpired was a few hours of community closeness that only happened because I made it happen.
In the past few years I have seen much conversation surrounding the idea of third spaces. We constantly put out calls for more of them: more places you do not have to pay to get into or go out of your way to find. More places to meet people naturally.
Though one’s home technically counts as their “first space,” to others it may be somewhere unfamiliar or completely brand new. You have the power to create a third space for your community. Eventually, someone else might return the favor and host their own function, offering a place for you to explore.
Hosting is not only a way to engage with existing friends, but to make new ones. Encourage your invitees to bring a plus one. The friend of a friend of a friend could end up being your new favorite person, who you did not have to pay a cover charge to meet.
In the midst of what is often referred to as the loneliness epidemic, we need to get serious about taking matters into our own hands. I cannot count the number of times I have wanted to be invited to an event — a crafting night, a friendsgiving, a writing workshop — and been disappointed to see no such invite in my inbox. One day it hit me: there is nothing stopping me from being the host. If I want to do a crafting night so bad, why not be the one to organize it?
We have every right to feel helpless when it comes to making new connections in the digital age, but we must acknowledge the responsibility we have to ourselves and each other to work through the helplessness. Be the one to bring people together for everyone’s sake.