Stepping Over the Threshold of the Local Group and Finding a Room Full of Seekers

Dear Delyara, I stood outside the community center for fifteen minutes tonight, my hand freezing on the metal door handle, almost entirely paralyzed by the urge to turn around and walk back to my safe, lonely flat. I forced myself to walk inside to the creative writing group. Within ten minutes, as we sat around a battered table drinking terrible instant coffee out of mismatched mugs, I realized a profound truth: every single person in that room was just as nervous, just as lonely, and just as desperate for human connection as I was. We shared our stories, we laughed at our shared awkwardness, and I walked home through the cold streets feeling like this massive city was suddenly a little bit smaller and a whole lot warmer.