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Much like a plant or any living thing, the more care and attention given to friendships, the stronger they grow and the more connected people feel.​ So when COVID-19 came along, and the term “social distancing” became the new norm, friendships were put to the test. Some bonds, because of the pods people formed in an effort to limit virus exposure, grew stronger. Others, after months of limited or no interaction, faded away or were lost entirely.​ ​“People were forced to reconcile the value of friendship, because you can really understand the value of something when it’s taken away,” says...

I’ve lived in Houston for most of my life, and there’s never been a time when I’ve reasonably been able to walk anywhere. Houston is practically the poster child for American urban sprawl — the landscape is dominated by spread-out neighborhoods with single-family homes and massive “stroads” (street-road hybrids with the worst aspects of both) lined with strip malls and expansive parking lots, connected by miles and miles of highways. It’s an environment designed to be solely traversed by car, not by foot. That had a dramatic effect on the friends I could make, especially when I was younger and...

ANALYSIS: Students no longer know how to relate to one another face to face College students are isolated. A Harvard study from last year found 61 percent of young adults ages 18 to 25 feel “serious loneliness,” with 43 percent of these respondents reporting increases since the pandemic. The Healthy Minds Study, which surveyed students at 36 schools during fall 2020, also found 66 percent felt isolated from others. Every month or so, I see a new post on my university Reddit board from a student, who has nowhere else to turn, asking how to make friends. The college subreddit...

When did the Friendzone become such a terrible place to live? In the wake of the Santa Barbara shootings, the unpleasant underbelly of the pickup artist community (PUA), involuntary celibates (incels), and other unhealthy refuges for lonely men have drawn scrutiny and condemnation. They describe themselves as exiles; in the case of the Isla Vista shooter, he decided to destroy the world he couldn’t enter, instead of building something new outside it. Their sense of exclusion is exacerbated by the stories we tell about sex as a prize you can earn and the tendency of the media to shame sexual...

TIKRIT –The presence of U.S. Soldiers at Tikrit University is nothing new. But these days the Soldiers aren’t there to secure the campus, but rather to interact with Iraqi students as part of the "Soldier to Student" chat program. The original goal of the program was to help the students learn English, but the weekly chats have the added benefit of providing American Soldiers a glimpse into the daily lives of Iraqi college students and a forum to dissolve cultural and language barriers. "I learned that [Iraqi students] are very similar to my college friends,” said Navy Lt. Allen E....

PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Nov. 19, 2009 – I felt like a bean-bag being tossed about in the cab of our pickup truck as our convoy traveled several bumpy miles off the main road, deep into the Hindu Kush Mountains of the Panjshir Valley, Nov. 15. Army Pvt. Orson Whitaker wraps a young resident from Dakhawak village in the Paryan district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province in a hand-made quilt, Nov. 15, 2009. The supplies are a part of the combined effort of the provincial government and reconstruction team in Panjshir to provide essential services and assistance to residents. U.S. Air Force...

Iraqi Soldier Hussein Ali and Sgt. Jeremy Fouts, a security non-commissioned officer from Charleston, W. Va., assigned to B Troop 1st Battalion, 150th Armor Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, formulate a plan on how to pass out the school supplies to the children at the Mullah Fayyad Primary School in Yusifiyah, Oct. 15. Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Ford, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — U.S. Soldiers here interact with the citizens of the Yusifiyah region every day to build stronger relationships and ensure the safety of the community. "This results in a peaceful community, with people living...

Staff Sgt. Alan Cable, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, (left), and 1st Lt. Adnan Ganim, 55th Iraqi Army Brigade, shake hands before returning to work at Joint Security Station Zubaida, south of Baghdad, July 15. Photo by Sgt. Mary Phillips, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team. FARNAN AL AMIN — American and Iraqi Soldiers at Joint Security Station (JSS) Zubaida here are looking back on the friendships they have formed as the Iraqi Army prepares to take over this small military post south of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Alan Cable, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, is proud of the two groups of...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Oct. 23, 2008 – Government officials and the medical team assigned to the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province coordinated with local leaders in two districts to augment health care services to 563 Afghans, including more than 150 women and 320 children, during medical engagements recently. Air Force Staff Sgt. Janine Duschka, a medic for the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, looks on while an interpreter explains medication dosages to a girl during the medical engagement Oct. 16, 2008, at Obdara clinic in the province’s Anaba district. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Welcome to the Weekend Singles' Thread The last thread I hosted was called "The Bucket List" and was based loosely on a movie that I'd never seen. I'm repeating the idea of threads about movies I've never seen again this week. In my defense, this one wasn't my idea. Someone else suggested a discussion of platonic friendships between men and women and the idea from the "Harry met Sally" movie that those friendships can't exist. I'm going to add an idea from a news story this week in part because the story seemed amusing and in part because I wonder...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

FORT HUACHUCA — Germany is hosting soccer’s World Cup, but this Southern Arizona Army post has it own international tournament. The 27th Conseil International du Sport Militaire Volleyball Championships began on Saturday. A very small, Olympic-like opening ceremony was held on Bujalski Field outside Barnes Field House, the venue for the games between teams from nine nations. With military members from the post carrying signs identifying the nations, the teams marched on to part of the field, behind one of their members carrying their national flags. First to be announced was L’Allemagne — Germany. The others followed in alphabetical order...

Hello again...& Welcome to ATRW for Tues., Apr. 19!As the week continues....John Bolton's name is set to be sent to the Senate Floor for confirmation as UN Ambassador...Longtime Republican Cong. from Illinois, Henry Hyde announced his retirement at term's end.For the first time in 4 weeks, gasoline prices at the pump have dropped...a few cents.An Iraqi Maj. General and his son were assassinated late Monday returning to Baghdad from Madain.And the Cardinals met for the first day of their deliberations with no new Pope selected.We Will Not Tire, We Will Not Falter, and We Will not Fail!