Finding Your Community

Where do you even find friends as an adult?

When we are younger, we are more likely to have opportunities to form friendships. This is usually based on proximity, and being stuck with the same individuals in school and extra curricular activities. As an adult, where do you meet new people who share the same interest as you? How do you find people who value the same things as you? How do you connect in a world that is touch-and-go? And let’s not forget about how disconnected we feel from people whom we’ve “connected” with via the internet. These days, there are more ways to stay in touch, and sadly, more feelings of being out of touch than ever. 

And then, I found a gold mind: COMMUNITIES. 

Think of any activity, hobby, or interest you have – think back to what you did for extra curricular activities as a child; I bet there’s a community of people out there who enjoy the same things as you. There are so many communities out there, left untapped. 

Here are a few examples: 

Sports – Tailgating and rooting for your favorite team, trading cards

Stationery – Journaling and Calendar Planning meet ups 

Model Figures – Aircrafts, Armor, Vehicles competitions and conventions 

Fantasy – Anime, Comics, and Renaissance Fairs

Gardening – Plant Swaps 

Fountain Pens – Special Meet ups and tutorials 

Cars – Shows and group trips 

Outdoors – Rockclimbing, camping, hiking, water sports 

Cooking – Cooking and Baking classes 

Miniatures – Conventions 

Antiques – Trunk Shows 

Animals – Fostering and volunteering

The Arts – Painting, Pottery, Dance, Theater; Classes and shows 

Reading – Book Clubs 

Basically, whatever you can think of, there’s a group of people who like the same things as you. Going to one of these meet ups is already a win, because you have picked something you will enjoy. The key is to stay consistent with showing up so that you have the opportunity to meet the people with whom you jive with. 

So, pick one of your interests, and start looking into local or virtual meet ups. There are other people like you out there. 

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Natalie Frazier, LMFT

Natalie's work is primarily focused on Couples and Individual Adults. She is experienced in grief and loss counseling, traumas (sexual and life-threatening), marital relations (including communication skills and infidelity), and emotion regulation (such as anger management and depression). She seeks to be an ally to all communities.