I’m Asad. I was born in Dorset, spent a few years living in the Congo, and eventually settled back in the UK near Watford until I was 28. After that, I moved to Whitechapel, where I’ve been living ever since.
I work for BBC Studios in Business Affairs, focusing on a mix of legal, finance, copyright, and contract law.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself at a crossroads. Many of my friends had moved on to new life stages, having children or leaving London and I wasn’t quite ready for those changes.
A Growing Sense of Disconnection
It was during this period of uncertainty that I truly began to understand the weight of loneliness.
The best way I’d describe it was kind of like a hollowness – having things you want to share but feeling like there’s no one to connect with. It can make you feel like half a person, disconnected from the wider society.
After all, humans are social creatures that need meaningful interaction, and so without that – life can feel black and white.
The pandemic intensified these feelings for many people, myself included. It made us more anxious about going out and fostered a reliance on online communication, which often lacks depth and true connection.
Social media has also exacerbated that I think by giving a false sense of interaction that doesn’t really provide the connection you’re looking for.
In past, I’ve been hesitant to talk about loneliness or act on, because of the stigma that surrounds it – as people often wrongly perceive it as an admission of a lack of charisma or worth.
Whereas the truth is, finding friends as an adult can be incredibly challenging. Unlike school or university, where friendships form naturally, I’ve found that adulthood requires a more intentional effort to build relationships.
Finding My People
To try to counter those challenges, I had tried various social events and activities, but The Great Friendship Project stood out to me.
I found the events to be really well-organised, with a variety of activities that appeals to a range of different interests.
From paintballing and go-karting to pub crawls and karaoke, every event presented a new chance to meet like-minded people and form genuine connection and it has been transformative for me.
I’ve built strong friendships with people I met through the events – friendships that have led to all sorts of trips and adventures together, including several New Year’s Eves together in a house in Wales.
The project also helped me meet my partner, who moved in with me last year and living together has been a new and rewarding experience and I feel fortunate to have found meaningful connections through the project.
From all these experiences what I’ve learned is that loneliness isn’t a personal failing; it’s a systemic issue tied to how society has evolved.
Above all, I’ve learned that taking the first step to building new connections isn’t a sign of weakness, but an act of courage.
