Throughout the pandemic, human connection was distant and unsafe. Closeness turned life-threatening, gathering felt prefer it turned unlawful, and Zoom calls have been the one hyperlink to different individuals. What was meant to be a “see you later” in two weeks turned months of isolation, which changed into years of disconnection for some.
A report from the Surgeon Normal discovered that half of adults expertise loneliness, and plenty of People are nonetheless feeling the ramifications of quarantines, distancing protocols, and limitless display time some 5 years later. What’s worse is that loneliness isn’t just a sense; it’s an epidemic that correlates to cognitive decline, hypertension, psychological well being problems, diabetes, infectious ailments, and extra.
I used to be considered one of these lonely individuals. So I made a decision to do one thing about it this yr. I discovered an in-person passion that has rapidly turn into an essential a part of my life within the unlikeliest of locations: Threads.
A visit to Denver modified my life
For this story to make sense, we first have to return to June 26, 2022. If you happen to dwell in Colorado and are a sports activities fan, you might acknowledge this date because the day the Colorado Avalanche received the Stanley Cup towards the Tampa Bay Lighting.
That day additionally occurred to be Satisfaction in Denver, so my associate and I made a decision to make the trek from Boulder to Denver to soak up the sights and actions. We weren’t utterly unaware of the “big game” occurring, however we weren’t touring for that function. We ended up at a bar with an fascinating combination of rainbow boas and Avalanche jerseys.
I’ll always remember turning into mesmerized by the high-intensity skating, the followers, and the vitality I felt in downtown Denver that day. It was like returning to the “before times” whereas concurrently stumbling upon one thing new that I couldn’t clarify.
When Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen scored the tie-breaking objective, I used to be hooked. Hockey was about to turn into my new persona.
I attended my first Avalanche sport at Ball Area with my associate a couple of months later, which solely made us fall extra in love with the game and the group. Participant jerseys have been ordered, commemorative sport pucks started magically exhibiting up at my home because of FedEx, and reveals like Letterkenny have been on repeat.
Credit score: Vee Weir
I noticed that it wasn’t simply the aesthetics of being a hockey fan in a hockey state or the sport of hockey itself that was addicting; it was the neighborhood that pulled me additional in.
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Figuring out the within jokes of the house broadcasting staff, making commerce predictions with different hockey fans on Fb, and following gamers’ careers throughout the NHL turned a ritual that deepened my connection to the game and different individuals. This new world was immersive, welcoming, and unusually healthful for a sport with blades, golf equipment, and in-game brawls.
The writer and her associate at Ball Area on Dec. 12, through which the ticket promo included a photoshoot on the ice after the sport.
Credit score: Vee Weir
I rapidly expanded my curiosity from simply Avalanche hockey when the Skilled Girls’s Hockey League (PWHL) introduced its inaugural season in 2023. Girls’s hockey exploded, and that’s after I began pondering, “If Taylor Heise can do it, why can’t I?”
Have I played hockey before? No. Have I skated in hockey skates before? No. Did I want to try it anyway? Absolutely.
So I posted on Threads
As a neurodivergent woman who hadn’t made friends in years, I knew that trying a new sport with new people in new places would be a big step for me. So, like any decent millennial, I turned to the internet first. Perhaps someone would advise me on how to start playing a new sport at age 32.
I did not expect the response I received when I posted on Threads.
Credit score: Vee Weir
By way of this single submit, I used to be immediately related with individuals who not solely beloved hockey like me, however performed hockey and had discovered associates doing it. I used to be fortunate to befriend Sarah Speights, a WACH (Girls’s Affiliation of Colorado Hockey) board member, who directed me to the Denver Girls’s Hockey League (DWHL).
Credit score: Vee Weir
Credit score: Vee Weir
From there, I signed up for the DWHL’s free hockey 101 clinic, and I started my hockey participant journey with skates Sarah gave me and kit that was loaned out to me by the DWHL.
Credit score: Vee Weir
I started skating classes, attended the hockey clinic, and signed up for the league instantly.
Credit score: Vee Weir
I additionally attended the Denver PWHL Takeover Tour in January, and skilled over 14,000 girls’s hockey followers (a lot of them additionally gamers) in a single constructing. The neighborhood reaffirmed that I needed to get on the ice.
A month later, I satisfied my associate to join a second, co-ed league. Now we’re both taking part in or working towards at ice rinks one to 2 instances per week.
Do not surrender on social media
Individuals give social media numerous flak, however in 2025 there’s nonetheless a glimmer of its unique function: creating neighborhood.
If you happen to’re scuffling with discovering a selected household or neighborhood, like so many people are, I counsel digging into your present pursuits. Is there a manner you may turn into extra concerned in what already sparks pleasure for you? Are you able to analysis inside on-line communities and discover native gatherings? Are there lowered value or free choices to start with?
I requested myself these questions and found a passion I like, individuals who share that curiosity, and extra neighborhood connection. It began with a submit on Threads and previous, free gear. Cease worrying about wanting good, give this a strive for your self, and see what occurs.
