"If so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, then it's inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone." - Tennessee Williams
One of the things I get to do as an intern with Born for More is to be a shoulder for students to cry on when they're feeling homesick, overwhelmed, lonely or all of the above. I don't want to brag, but this comes SUPER easily to me because my own feelings of homesickness are still so fresh. When I give a student a hug and say "I know how you're feeling", I really mean it. A few months ago, I was feeling exactly the same way.
Tonight, I got to spend some quality time with a student who was missing her family very much. She is from Beijing and today is Mid-Autumn Festival, a special holiday in Chinese culture. She had nobody to celebrate with and was feeling very lonely. When I offered to come up to campus and spend the evening with her, she quickly accepted. My boss had given me some moon cakes (a traditional Chinese dessert served during Mid-Autumn Festival) earlier that day, so I grabbed them and hopped on a bus. We spent the evening sitting on her bed in her dorm room, munching on moon cakes and talking about life. By the time I left, she was in much better spirits and she kept saying "Oh Steph, I was so lonely. Thank you so much for coming!" ... I was so touched by her genuine appreciation and was reminded that it really is the little things in life that make a big difference.
Tonight, my heart is thinking of all the students (at UBC and campuses all over the world) who are feeling lonely and homesick and have no one they can phone who is willing or able to come sit in their dorm room and spend an evening eating desserts. I pray that God will bring wonderful mentors and supporters into their lives. Nobody should have to be lonely alone.
