I moved back home after graduating from college. No one told me maintaining a social life would be so hard.

"Earlier this year, I could typically be found in my college apartment in Syracuse, New York. The space may not have been ideal, with its cracking plaster and creaking staircase, but when the lease came to an end, my roommate and I weren't ready to say goodbye. Our apartment had been the home of weekly wine nights, tarot readings, and movie screenings."

"After spending most of my college career working to shed the socially anxious persona I developed in high school, my senior year of college gifted me the life I always wanted. Then, in May, we received our diplomas and left it all behind. For the first time in four years, I was going to be on my own. When I moved home, my social life changed drastically."

"Although I'm grateful to have a place to stay while I look for opportunities and build my savings, I can't help but feel frustrated by how drastically my social life has changed since graduation. Now, my college friends are scattered across the country, and our once routine get-togethers have been reduced to sporadic text messages. Although some of us have tried finding new ways to connect,"

A lively senior year featured weekly wine nights, tarot readings, movie screenings, performances, themed parties, and frequent board games. Graduation dispersed friends, ended shared apartment life, and triggered a move home that sharply reduced social contact. Friends scattered across the country, and routine gatherings shrank to sporadic texts, calls, and handwritten letters. Social media browsing increased nostalgia and intensified feelings of loneliness. Attempts to maintain friendships did not cure postgrad loneliness. The response involved returning to past hobbies and exploring new ones to learn how to spend time alone and rebuild personal fulfillment.

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