Forget about the textbooks for now. While we rest in this place of in-between — between professors going over three pages of an eleven-page syllabus and all academic hell breaking loose — focus on finding your third place, a neutral, public place for connection and interaction.
Contrary to popular belief, paying for required textbooks you will only pick up once this semester, if at all, running to Walmart to purchase a string of decorative lights for your dorm room (which, oddly enough, seems to always be the missing piece in a dorm) and arranging your next visit home should not be at the top of your to-do list; making a home for yourself here, on campus, should be.
As college students, we are one of many vulnerable populations. We are away from home, some from out-of-state, some from outside of the United States entirely, and somehow balancing homework with part-time or full-time jobs and trying to find time to expand our horizons, usually by joining more organizations than we are able to handle — all while being under-fed and sleep deprived.
So, if you were a loner in high school, now is the time – and the perfect place — to drop that phase; it will not serve you now, not here.
This idea of having a home away from home is not new. It has been tossed around for centuries, but was not officially coined or thoroughly explored until 1989 by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book “The Good Place.”
Its purpose is to explain the place outside of the home, the first place, and the workplace, the second place.
In this book, Oldenburg defined the term as “public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact” and can be anywhere in the public square, from a pub to a post office and everything in between.
Some of the defining characteristics of third places, according to Oldenburg himself, are that they are located on neutral ground and everyone is equal.
Third places are accessible and accommodating, and most importantly, conversation is the primary activity — the one thread that strings all third places together.
They are integral to building significant relationships and fostering community and connection with people outside of the places we find ourselves every day: school and work.
Because of things such as increased social media usage and previous social-distancing practices that arose from COVID-19, third places are quickly disappearing.
According to an article in The Week, Insider said, “For decades, Americans reported spending about 6.5 hours a week with friends. But from 2014 to 2019, it suddenly dropped by 37%, to four hours a week.” However, the declination does not override their importance.
Psychologist Elena Touroni said third places help us achieve a work-life balance, find a place of rest and sanctuary, foster a sense of connection and belonging, increase our productivity and boost our mood.
Touroni also reported that they help reduce feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
So, get up, get out, and get involved.
UCA is home to nearly 200 registered student organizations. Take your pick. You’re bound to find one that fits you.
Go to events you never would have gone to in high school, join a club completely antithetical to what is expected of you, and most importantly, start a conversation somewhere, anywhere. Finding the place you belong and the people you fit with has never been more important than now.