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Making Connections

No matter your age, connecting with others is always important, as forming bonds early in life can lead to great friends and opportunities later down the road. While it can be difficult to trust others, especially if you’ve been taken advantage of before, it’s crucial to look for those who wish to connect with others, start conversations, and/or create new relationships.

Featuring…


Connect


A question that might come up is “Why should we connect with others at all?” Well, there a ton of reasons why connections are great. On the Australian website 5 Ways to Wellbeing, we found a resource simply called “Connect”, that includes a 30-second video that explains why making bonds and connections matter. Since humans are social animals, we thrive off of interaction and community, which explains why we care about bonding with others so much.



There are many benefits to making new connections with people. These benefits can be good for both our physical and mental health, which is always a good thing. On the Illinois State University website, we found a post titled: “Social Connections Important To Well-Being” that goes over several benefits to connecting socially; these benefits range from increased quality of life, improved recovery from hardship/trauma, better confidence, and plenty more.


10 Ways to Deepen Your Connections With Others


If you’re unsure of how exactly you can start relating/connecting with others, we’ve got you covered. Chopra.com’s 10 Ways To Deepen Your Connections With Others lists 10 unique ways you can deepen your relationships with friends, family, coworkers, classmates, or really anyone at all! Some of these lovely tips are scheduling time to hang out or talk, talking about what you like and don’t like, or just smiling and making eye contact with those around you. 



Author’s Note: Hi everyone. Currently I am working on a special blog post detailing my recent trip to Philadelphia for the RAISE Summit conference, including the many people, sights, and foods I encountered! Think of this post as a kind of bonus, that’s more in line with a unique travel blog, rather than our normal Thursday posts. Anyway, this special post is still in the works as of writing, but it should be released sometime before next Wednesday, July 6th. I hope to see you all here next week!

Jeremy Hayer


What do you think about connecting with others? How would you prefer to start a new connection? Let us know in the comments below!  For youth and young adults, ages 13-26, join us on the SPAN Youth Chat on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:00 PM.

Resources...

Link to SPAN's website: www.spanadvocacy.org
Link to SPAN's Youth in the Know Resource Page: Youth in the Know
We're here for you! Call SPAN if you need assistance: 1-800-654-7726

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