Remember, if you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. There are many others who feel the same way, but unfortunately it is rarely spoken out loud. On Valentine’s Day, experiences of loneliness and isolation feel especially harrowing if you don’t have your own group of friends.
Valentine’s Day traditionally celebrates existing friendships, which is also valuable, of course. However, could we focus Valentine’s Day more on making it possible to make new friendships?
When planning the BetterTogether Valentine’s Day event, the goal is to keep this idea clear in mind. The event will be held on Friday 14.2. at 11-14 at TAMK main campus.
Campusravita restaurant has New Friends tables marked separately on Valentine’s Day. The purpose of which is to introduce students to each other in a relaxed way. If you find it difficult to open a conversation with a complete stranger, there are question cards at the table to support the conversation. It’s a good idea to start getting acquainted with suitably light topics. What would you answer if you were asked, for example, “If you only had three apps on your phone, what would they be?” or “What’s the weirdest food you’ve tasted?”
Hopefully, the New Friends tables will encourage the creation of new friendships or at least lower the threshold for approaching new acquaintances, even if a longer friendship is not immediately formed. Don’t take any pressure, you can just go and chat nice with others. And as a reminder, New Friends tables are for everyone, regardless of the quantity or quality of your friendships. So feel free to sit down at the New Friends table. You might be surprised how amazing people you will get for your lunch company.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, could you also take it upon yourself to say hello or smile at someone in the corridors of the campus? For example, grab a compliment from the Parvi or corridor and hand it to someone familiar or unfamiliar. Who among us wouldn’t be delighted with things like “You have a great smile!”
Even small things have an impact on creating a sense of community, so that everyone here on campus would feel part of the community, that they belong. Let’s be human to human. Let’s smile, say hello, ask how things are going, be interested in the other person. Let’s show with our attitude and essence that we don’t exclude anyone.
“At night in the valleys of sleep
I listen how “Like a Virgin” plays
When everyone wearing their best clothes sings in chorus
My own gang looks at me with a smile
They don’t turn me away
And on the table I see
On the table I see
A bunch of coffee and buns”
Quotes from the song “Kahvia ja pullaa”
Lyrics: K. Lindroth, A. Rannila, J. Reunamäki, A. Tuisku, S. Törmä
Text: Anni Parviainen, Intern, Learning and Wellbeing Services, TAMK
Picture: Pixabay
