When we think of something that connects us all together, we tend to think of objects or traits. We all like a certain food, sense of style or like being outgoing Yet sometimes we tend to be blind to what’s right in front of us, and it’s how we feel. We all experience sadness, grief, feeling wanted or accomplished but there’s always an element that connects us the most and it’s love. Everyone has a different definition of love. Love can be an emotion, an action, or it can be as simple as giving a flower. Romantic, familia and platonic love is all valid and something we all experience on a daily basis. Love comes in so many different shapes and forms. A study shown in Virginia Satir states “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” This study has a lot of meaning behind it, not only does it demonstrate that humans need a form of love on a day to day basis but it shows that love is something we all experience and connect us with. Hugging falls into the category of physical touch that is a love language. The 5 love languages are gift giving, words of affirmation, physical touch, quality time and acts of service. You can find these love languages almost everywhere. From your mom packing your lunch for work or as simple as going on a date with a friend or loved one. Solidarity connects us with love, with the expression in our lives one way or another. Love is everywhere and regardless if it’s not romantic it can be platonic or familia. Everyone can express love and even if it doesn’t seem like it, it’s in our everyday life.
Now how does solidarity really connect love? Solidarity became its own thing in France, 1790. The basic definition of solidarity is “ a sense of togetherness.” By that definition it could be anything that brings us a society as a whole. Like a favorite dish or a common political opinion. Love is needed in this world and it grows and grows the more you connect with others and show your appreciation towards another person. An article made by Annelise Jolley does more in depth about love and its ability to connect us all.“Love defies a neat definition because it is a mix of the objective and the subjective, of the biological and social, of the personal and public, and of the conscious and unconscious.” Love is something that’s hard to describe or put in a single definition because of how strong of an emotion it is. Love is something we all experience from a complement to a hug from a loved one. It’s a big emotion not a lot of people cherish or realize they have in their daily life. We as people need one another to grow. “Humans need other humans in order to live. We need one another in order to reproduce, learn, seek safety, share resources, and raise children—and we rely on social cooperation in order to accomplish all of these essential tasks. Forming and maintaining loving relationships creates a chain of cooperation; when we care for others, other people like us more and are more willing to help us.” Us as humans continue to exist because of love and how strong it is.
In my life I’ve seen solidarity, from my own theater production to school life, everyone is connected. Even in its ups and downs people around us experience and show and grow but there’s always a meaning behind why we are connected. Why we show up to work, why we do the things we enjoy and it’s all for something. Personally, I follow my passions because I love it. I love doing theater, art, spending time with others and it’s something I won’t ever stop doing because it makes me feel a sense of belonging.
In past experiences, I’ve had people close to me that come and go but have always shown me how to care and connect regardless if they’re in my life or not. My friend of 6 whole years has never left my side, they are one of the reasons I am outgoing and extroverted. Casey has had some experiences with loss, but they don’t let that stop them from loving their family and caring about their sick mother. As I asked Casey a love language she experiences in her daily life they said “words of affirmation from my mom, before work I always go into her room, tell her mom I’m going to work not be safe I love you and call me if your feeling unwell, and she reciprocates saying it back and gives me a blessing before going to work to make sure I’ll be safe. My mom means a lot to me, she’s my best friend and she motivates me to do my best at work. I love my mom so much.” Casey and their mom have a strong bond that impacts Casey’s day to day life. They give it their all as an Intern at City Hall, always being their outgoing self and bringing out the best in everyone, even me. When me and Casey became friends, we never thought it would grow this strong and big between us. Not only did we gain more friends, but we grew closer in our high school years and graduated together. Casey is an inspiring soul that loves to give and never stops making people feel like they belong.
I also Interviewed my partner Aidan, who has lots of experience in love. Aidan is one of the most caring people I’ve met. We’ve been elementary school sweethearts and I’ve seen him grow and be the best version of himself. Aidan’s family owns a restaurant that he works at. He answers the to go orders and helps clean around the tables. He cares a lot about his coworkers and his godmother who owns the restaurant. He loves helping out his family and showing love by acts of service. Aidan is not only a good worker but also a good friend. There’s not one day where someone doesn’t reach out to him for help or to hangout, he’s always there for anyone. “I believe love unites us all, from stopping wars to complimenting a loved one. Love is a strong emotion that I experience everyday from my loved ones. Love is needed everywhere around us ” Soon Aidan will be the manager of his restaurant by the start of next year. He’s shown me that loving someone is never a waste no matter who or what the situation is, love should always be received and shown to everyone.
Solidarity can be a lot of things and doesn’t necessarily have to be something huge. But for me and many others you can find it in love. Helping us unite and help one another with anything big or small. Without love we aren’t united. I encourage everyone to show some appreciation to someone special in their lives today and every day.
Meet Journalist Rex Castro
