Of all the changes that accompany adulthood, the one that I’ve most struggled with is the sense of loneliness that I’ve felt over the past two years since graduating college. Maybe it reflects my inexperience with the emotion, but I have been surprised to learn what loneliness really feels like; that is, rather than dramatic and acute, it’s been subtle, kind of like an achy muscle. It probably won’t overwhelm you, but you definitely feel it.
Interestingly, and quite ironically, it turns out that I am not alone in the way I am feeling. Many of my friends have also echoed challenges related to socializing, and more broadly finding community, after college. And in a Google search of “Loneliness after college,” I found numerous articles on this topic. Not only that, it seems that even people who have been out of college for a long time, even people with families, often feel lonely as well.
The more and more I learn about mindfulness and curiosity, the more I am in awe of their power. For at least the past 3 years, I’ve both researched and thought about these topics, as well as conducted my own personal experiments in them.
