Online Communities

This is part 2 of my 2020 annual review

Until recently, I’ve never made a friend over the internet. I didn’t know how and I didn’t know what I was missing out on either. To be frank, I thought the concept was weird then. How can I build a genuine relationship with someone if I’ve never physically met them?

But this year, I met many amazing people through online communities (Shoutout to Twitter, On Deck, the Writing Club) despite a global pandemic. For example, when I first started writing, my friend Rishi, started a messenger group with other friends that were also interested in writing. We aptly named it, the writing club. This group edited my work, kept me accountable, and gave me confidence early on. I’m not sure if I’d be able to keep up the grind of a daily blog if I didn’t have this community. Our bond grew from this shared journey and our conversations naturally evolved from writing to anything and everything. Although I have yet to meet most of them in person, it doesn’t feel any different from friendships I have in person.

There’s an african proverb that sums up this lesson nicely, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Whatever I decide to learn in the future, finding a community of people on the same journey makes the learning process much easier. This community will help me grow, keep me accountable, and inspire me to achieve more. And the camaraderie of growing together sets the foundation for a strong friendship, whether we’re in the same physical area or not.