With a global pandemic and online school for many, this semester can feel lonely and isolating. School can easily take up huge amounts of our time, and without seeing friends in class, on campus, or at a coffee shop during the day, it can be hard to feel connected.Â
Being connected to our friends and peers is more important than ever with stress being high and huge amounts of uncertainty in the world. While texting and snapchatting are both great ways to stay in touch with friends, there are so many other tools that we can use to feel more connected and less lonely right now. Here are some of my favourite ideas:
- Cooking Together
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I love baking or making supper with my friends and it is so easy to have a similar experience virtually! Talk to a few of your besties and pick out a fun new recipe to try, buy the ingredients, and make the recipe over FaceTime. It will be fun to see whose creation turns out best, and afterward, you can catch up while eating a delicious meal. You have to make supper anyway, so why not include your friends in it!
- Shared Google Drive
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This is something my friends and I have started this year to catch up with each other. Having a group chat is great, but sometimes you can miss the details of what is going on in each of your friends’ lives. This is where the shared Google Drive comes in! Each friend can have a page to themselves where they share weekly updates, pictures, and anything else they’ve been into lately! It’s kind of like making a blog post just for your friends. It’s fun to see what’s going on in everyone’s lives and you feel so much more connected to their everyday routine even if you aren’t seeing them every day. Â
- Game Night
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Throughout quarantine, I have been introduced to the vast array of multi-player games that are available online. From Drawasaurus which is just like Pictionary, to Cards Against Humanity, there are so many available games!Â
- Netflix Party
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This one is so easy; you’re probably already watching Netflix before bed so why not watch a movie with your friends? Netflix Party lets you watch Netflix with other people and with Halloween coming up, a scary movie night might be just what you need to connect with your friends!
- Lunch Date
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During the school year and especially during exams, having lunch or coffee dates with my friends is a great way to improve my day. Even though you can’t go to your favourite coffee shops on campus, you can still make lunch dates a part of your day. All it takes is FaceTiming your friend! You could even order the same food for takeout!Â
- Paint Night
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One of my favourite memories from my first year of university was dorm paint nights. With all of the amazing tutorials on YouTube, you don’t have to be naturally artistic to draw a plant or beautiful mountains.Â
- FaceTime
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When all else fails, just having a relaxing FaceTime catch-up with one of your friends can be all you need to boost your mood and feel more connected. Everyone has busy days, but even fifteen minutes chatting with your friend about the latest updates in your lives is enough!
I hope some of these tips help you feel more connected with your friends right now! School and life can get so hectic, but we shouldn’t neglect to see the people we love, even if it’s not in person.