Over winter break, every college student is definitely missing their school friends. If you’re like me, you probably aren’t social when you’re at home over break. This can be wonderful but also feel very isolating.
One night as I was watching Bodyguard on Netflix, I remembered this non-profit start-up I discovered in high school on Twitter. It was called the Buddy Project. The Buddy Project was created by Gabby Frost in 2013 after realizing many of her peers suffered from mental illness. The intent of the Buddy Project is to create friendships based on similarities with people from around the globe. Originally, you had to match with a buddy using your Twitter handle, but they’ve recently expanded to using Instagram handles.
While I had used the system before, I never had a friend who really stuck. I took a chance and signed up for the next matching process using my instagram handle. I chose my topics to base the matches on, my number one being a senior in college. Less than two days later, I received a message on instagram from a girl named Anna.
Anna and I instantly connected. For some reason we have so many odd similarities that can’t simply be coincidences. We’ve opened up to each other about our issues, lives and so much more. And while Anna lives in Georgia and I am in Massachusetts, she is one of my best friends now. We text and snapchat each other daily and while I want nothing more than to fly down to Georgia and hang out with her, it’s comforting to have someone who isn’t physically here to talk to.
Meeting Anna has truly changed me for the better and I cannot stress enough that it is okay to talk about mental health! You don’t need to have a mental illness to sign up for the Buddy Project too, you can simply be looking for a new friend.
If you’re interested in trying the Buddy Project, go to http://www.buddy-project.org/signup/