Latest news with #GlobalFlourishingStudy
Scientific American
5 days ago
- Health
- Scientific American
Global Flourishing Study Reflects Youth Struggles and Ripple Effects of Childhood Challenges
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American 's Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman. How are you doing today, listeners? Would you say you're flourishing? I'm guessing you probably wouldn't—unless you have a particularly florid vocabulary. But researchers are increasingly focused on the idea of 'human flourishing,' a multifaceted measurement that aims to take a holistic look at our collective well-being. Basically, humans who are flourishing aren't just happy. They have lives that are good across the board—and scientists want to get better at measuring that so they can figure out what factors contribute to this desirable state. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Today's guest is Victor Counted, an associate professor of psychology at Regent University in Virginia. He is also a faculty affiliate at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and part of the team behind the Global Flourishing Study, a five-year longitudinal survey of more than 200,000 individuals from 22 countries. Thank you so much for coming on to chat with us today. Victor Counted: Thank you. I'm really honored to, you know, be here. Feltman: So tell me about the concept of flourishing. What does it mean to researchers? Counted: I think it means kind of different things. In the past some people might call it our 'well-being,' some could also say it's our 'quality of life,' but I think it's kind of a construct that [has] been studied for centuries. But essentially I think it's about how aspects of a person's life [are] good, right? But the flourishing dimension emphasizes the need to think about a context, how aspects of our life are good in relation to our environment, and—which I think is very important. That extension or that definition allows us to think about flourishing as something that is multidimensional, that involves different things. Let's say with the PERMA model—positive emotion, engagement, [relationships], meaning and accomplishment—you could talk about flourishing from that lens, but also I think the current framework that we're using, the one from Tyler VanderWeele, I think it's more comprehensive in the sense that it goes beyond just positive emotions and, you know, the idea of [relationships] to touching things like our happiness and life satisfaction as a dimension, meaning and purpose as a dimension, character and virtue as a dimension, physical and mental health at—as a dimension, social relationships as a dimension, but also financial well-being and stability. And so when you take that multidimensional approach it allows you to think about flourishing as something that encompasses different aspects of life—you know, particularly the idea of meaning and purpose, which, really, it's not often talked about within the broader definition of flourishing. Feltman: Mm-hmm. Counted: You could talk about these dimensions of flourishing; it's also important to think about what some might even call, let's say, pillars of flourishing or pathways of flourishing. Currently one of the things we've done is to identify at least four pathways: one is work, the other is family, the other is education, and the last pathway would be religious communities. And when we think about it—and in each particular culture or context the pathways to flourishing would differ, you know—but, like, for example, the four pathways that I mentioned are at least ones that we think that are universally, you know, agreed-upon and almost in any cultural context people would identify with this, although they might, you know, look at it in different ways. And the same thing with the dimensions of human flourishing that I mentioned earlier that are universally desired and to some degree an end in themselves. Feltman: So how did you personally get interested in, in studying human flourishing? Counted: I did my Ph.D. I looked at adult attachment and health and quality of [life] outcomes, and when I did this, you know, I knew I was always interested in health and quality of life and well-being [constructs], and during the time that I was studying this I kind of got involved and started collaborating with a colleague that was a part of the Human Flourishing Program, and, you know, I kind of came to the realization that all the things that I've actually been studying, it's actually about human flourishing—that's really what drives it, what [is] the crux of my work—and of course, I started to rethink how I look at things like health and quality of life outcomes. And also I'm also interested in how our environment ultimately shapes us and the psychological processes that kind of undergirds that. And so I think human flourishing became that very—well, that captures that. Feltman: Mm-hmm, and you're involved in the Global Flourishing Study. How does it work? Counted: So essentially it's a five-year study, and we have almost—about over 200,000 participants from 22 countries, and the interesting thing about it, these are nationally representative samples across 22 countries, and the plan is, we're working with Gallup to collect this data. We've just collected Wave 1 data, and the papers for Wave 1 [are] already out. And we're currently, with the Wave 2 data as well, it's also out. And, you know, we have a team of about 40-plus researchers from different disciplines and cultures and institutions, but mostly the project is hosted by Baylor University and Harvard Human Flourishing Program. A team of scholars, the brightest [minds] from around the world, and just, you know, doing, I think, one of the biggest social science research [projects] in modern history—I think it's been wonderful. And of course, I would be remiss not to mention Tyler VanderWeele and Byron Johnson for their leadership in the project itself. So it's, it's been incredible, yeah. Feltman: And were there any surprising findings in your first wave of results? Counted: Yeah, we actually got some really interesting findings. One of them that really stuck out most would be the fact that young people are struggling ... Feltman: Mm. Counted: Especially when you compare that to the past. There's a U-shaped well-being curve that is often used to talk about well-being and how it develops or evolves over a lifespan, but one of the things that we found was that that is not really what is happening. We [found] that young people were not [flourishing as much] as we had anticipated or hoped. Of course, that could be due to a number of reasons. Either some would say that it's due to COVID-19, the impact of that. Some would also say the mental health challenges, even financial insecurity that came as a result of COVID, but also the loss of meaning as well, it's also a part of that, and most of the individual papers in the study would point to some of those things, you know? But I think that overall the disruption of the U-shaped traditional curve of well-being, it's one thing to pay attention to, and what that simply means now is the fact that the curve itself is flat until about 50 years old, and that has huge implications for the mental health of young people and policies that shape that. The other finding was also—you know, it's not necessarily surprising—the fact that married people and those that were in [relationships], they were flourishing better compared to those that were not. And of course, you know, we can get a sense of why that is the case: because of the fact that they're in supportive [relationships] and the social connection that they have in those relationships kind of, you know, helps [as well to] drive or sustain their well-being. The other finding that I think also is interesting to point to would be the area of employment. Flourishing somehow reflects the status of one's job. For example, people that are retired scored the highest in the flagship paper that we had compared to those that were not employed. Those that were also self-employed, you know, followed suit [with] those that were also employed by someone else. And it kind of tells you something: those that are—have some kind of stability in, in terms of their career or job stability tended to kind of feel more secure and happy compared to those that are maybe seeking for a job. But also [interesting] as well would be the area of religious-service attendance; remember I mentioned that religion is also an important construct when we talk about a flourishing life and the idea that it's not necessarily the fact that—and when we talk about religion most people will point to institutional religion ... Feltman: Mm-hmm. Counted: But [talking] about religion broadly, in terms of the psychological aspect of religion. In fact, some of my colleagues, we talk about this as the 'four Bs.' That religion helps us with the idea of belonging, right—when we form social support with people in our congregation that's very important for our well-being and flourishing. Also the bonding that comes with that as well ... Feltman: Mm. Counted: Whether it's through the spiritual connection with the divine or the sacred. The behaving component: the moral component, the cultivation of character and virtue through, whether it's religiouspractices or dogma or [theology], this engagement with one's life. And also the believing part as well: [meaning that] religion, in some sense, helps us to form or embrace things like hope or forgiveness, you know, have some kind of certain spiritual convictions that help us to believe that we can do the impossible. All those things become really fundamental, especially when we look at the results on religious attendance: that for most people that were frequently attending religious services ... they scored higher on flourishing compared to those that never did or maybe attended [a] few times in a year, but that weekly attendance was really very fundamental to their well-being. And interestingly, also, across all the studies, all the individual papers—I'm talking about almost 100 papers, individual papers—it's still pointing to the same thing, regardless of the culture, regardless of the context, even in secular contexts like Sweden. That was also very interesting. But I do wanna say this, though: because some people who actually attended religious services also reported more pain and suffering, which is ... Feltman: Mm. Counted: Kind of interesting as well. And, you know, we could think about why this is—might be the case. In some sense we know that religious communities would often provide support for people during hard times, and [many] people are drawn to ... a religious community or faith because they're seeking some kind of relief for their suffering or pain, but also, theologically, for most people, the way they conceptualize suffering, it's also very different as well. Suffering could be something that is part of an embodiment of one's faith, you know? So the fact that they are suffering doesn't necessarily mean they're not flourishing, if that makes sense. Feltman: Mm. Counted: So that, you know, kind of interesting. But beyond this we also try to look at some of the childhood predictors or experiences that kind of predispose one to a flourishing life when they're adults. Of course, people that had excellent health at a very young age, we noticed that they were flourishing as adults. Again, people that were attending religious services at a very young age—at the age of 12, for example—were flourishing as adults. People that had good relationships with their mother or their father, we saw them flourishing as adults. But interestingly, though, we noticed those [whose] parents were divorced were not [flourishing as much], you know, as adults. And the same thing with those that were exposed to abusive relationships, whether it's physical or sexual, were also really quite struggling to flourish. And also those that grew up in financially difficult [households], with families that were struggling financially, we saw them also struggling to flourish later as adults. Now what this tells us is that flourishing is a lifespan thing, right? And so the way we raise our kids, the early experiences that we have ultimately become the foundation that kind of shapes what a flourishing life would be, you know, and just have implications in many ways, I think. Feltman: Yeah, and how were the U.S.'s results in the beginning of the flourishing study? Counted: Yeah, I think we found some, particularly with most of the Western context, we found some sort of interesting findings. One of the surprising results was the fact that [the] U.S. [was] not flourishing ... as well as some others. For example, countries like Indonesia, Philippines, most of the non-Western countries, were really doing well across all the different dimensions. But for the U.S., for example, they were also doing well on financial stability, but unfortunately, the United States scored lower when it came to meaning and [relationships], right? And, and this has [implications], and it, it does, in some way, [tell] us that having more money doesn't necessarily mean people are happy or they're doing well in life, and hopefully that kind of shapes or challenges the way that we kind of understand what aflourishing life is. You know, it's not necessarily about success. It's not about money; it's not about material stuff. At the heart of that, it's meaning and [relationships]. And also you could think about, politically, how the political landscape or dynamics within the U.S. might also be contributing to the breakdown of [relationships], right, and also tension around meaning. It's very terrifying in many ways. Feltman: So you've talked about, you know, some of the factors that might be out of our control or might be systemic that impact flourishing ... Counted: Mm. Feltman: But to wrap us up, you know, what about things that we can control? You know, what are your takeaways in terms of what our listeners should learn from the flourishing study? Counted: One of the [challenges], I guess—or [limitations], rather—from the Global Flourishing Study, I think, is the fact that most of the things that we studied, you know, we did it from an etic lens, we took an etic approach, which it essentially meant that we were looking at it universally, right? One of the things that can help us to better understand some of these findings would be the need to kind of take a more emic, context-sensitive approach, where we're looking at individual cultures and societies to ask the question around: 'Why are they scoring this on that? What might be happening? What are the underlying contextual factors that might be shaping what is happening in this context?' But most importantly, also, I think it's important that we think about the different areas or contexts to which we see that most societies or people are suffering, particularly with young people, particularly around issues or questions around purpose and meaning and [relationships], especially in the Western context, not just the U.S., but also in Europe, even in Australia. [Thinking about questions] around meaning and purpose—how can we create initiatives or support research or ideas that can help us accelerate and promote, really, the pursuit of meaning and purpose—I, I think that will go a long way [in] helping people to flourish and do well. And really, also, I think this study is just a starting point. It's kind of opened a door for more studies to kind of engage some of these ideas and, and topics. And my hope is that, you know, somehow we can come to the point where we can start to think about: 'What would a flourishing goal look like for this community, for this context, or this particular continent or country?' Right? And as we start to talk about that it also means that we—it challenges the way that we look at: 'What does flourishing look like for us?' And to understand that it has to be context-sensitive; not just that—also it has to kind of focus on the values, the things that we value, and start from there to kind of make changes and define what really shapes us and [makes] us happy. Feltman: Well, thank you so much for coming on to chat today. This has been really interesting. Counted: Thank you so much. Feltman: That's all for today's episode. We'll be back with our usual news roundup on Monday. Before you log off for the weekend, we'd be super grateful if you could take a minute to fill out our listener survey. We're looking to find out more about our listeners so we can keep improving Science Quickly. If you fill it out during the month of May, you'll be eligible to win some awesome Scientific American swag. So head over to while there's still time! Thanks in advance. Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The Science of Belonging: New Research Shows How In-Person Treatment Can Positively Transform Young Adult Lives
NEW YORK, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As new Gallup data from the Global Flourishing Study reveals that 44% of young adults worldwide feel they don't matter to others, The Dorm—a leading mental health treatment program—offers a message of hope. In its 2024 Research Outcomes & Impact Report, clients report a 134% improvement in overall well-being and a 34% increase in peer acceptance and belonging through in-person treatment. These findings affirm the power of a clinical care model that helps young people feel seen, heard, and connected. "For the first time this year, we are admitting clients to The Dorm who report having deeper connections and relationships with artificial intelligence than human peers," shares John McGeehan, LCSW, Founder and CEO of The Dorm. "One of Google's top trending searches in 2025 was 'how to make friends as an adult'. It's clear that despite being more connected online than ever before, young adults are more isolated in their real-world relationships. What our outcomes show is that the right treatment support and environment can make a positive difference and promote true belonging." The key takeaway from The Dorm's report is the profound impact of treatment that blends individualized, integrative clinical care with immersive in-person social experiences. A major highlight of the report is The Dorm's first-of-its-kind measurement tool that assesses the effectiveness of various care formats—virtual, in-person, and hybrid—uncovering that clients receiving in-person treatment reported feeling 75% more connected to their therapist. In an era where virtual treatment options are on the rise, The Dorm's findings highlight the enduring power of friendship, peer support, and face-to-face connection in mental health recovery. To explore The Dorm's innovative treatment approach and view the full 2024 Outcomes & Impact Report, visit: About The DormThe Dorm is a mission-driven mental health treatment organization that has been empowering young adults to build lives of sustained independence since 2009. With locations in New York City and Washington, D.C., they offer individualized, flexible, and community-centered intensive outpatient care for a clinically diverse population (ages 18–30). Proudly family-owned and operated, The Dorm has redefined how care looks and feels. Today, 87% of their alumni are either gainfully employed or enrolled full-time in school, living their dreams and thriving. Meredyth Williams, Director of Marketing & Communications mwilliams@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Dorm Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Vox
7 days ago
- Health
- Vox
Gen Z misery, explained in one chart
The kids, it's been suggested, are not okay. For decades, established research showed that happiness and well-being levels tend to peak during youth in your late teens and 20s, drop during midlife, and rise again in old age. But this U-shaped happiness curve is now morphing, according to the results from a recent global study: Many of the world's young people are not flourishing. 'Young people — and this is a universal finding — in general, are not doing well,' says Byron Johnson, the director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University and a co-author of the study. 'That U is becoming a J. It's flattening. That's cause for concern, not just here in the United States, but it's cause for concern all over the world.' The results come from the Global Flourishing Study, a multiyear project from researchers at Harvard and Baylor that uses survey data from Gallup to measure levels of well-being worldwide. Data was collected between 2022 and 2024 from over 200,000 adults in 23 countries and territories. To measure flourishing, researchers surveyed participants in core areas such as happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. Taken together, these dimensions represent the Flourishing Index Score, or how much a person is said to be flourishing. (Financial and material stability also play a role in flourishing, but were excluded when examining the relationship between flourishing and age.) In the US and many other geographically and culturally diverse countries, young people between the ages of 18 and 29 do not appear to be flourishing. In Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, flourishing increases with age. The gulf between young and old is most pronounced in the US, researchers found. Today, Explained Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The findings are not universal. Hong Kong and Japan show the traditional U-shaped course of flourishing, while in India, Israel, Kenya, Poland, and Tanzania, flourishing decreases throughout the lifespan. In the United States, the results of the study echo other research that shows young people are struggling. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of high school students reported feeling consistently hopeless or sad in 2023, compared to 30 percent in 2013. Nearly half of Gen Z report often or always feeling anxious, per a 2023 Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey. The American Psychological Association's 2023 Stress in America survey found young people experience more stress than older cohorts. Today's young people are lonelier than previous generations, another study found. As additional waves of data are analyzed, researchers can identify what causes young people to struggle, Johnson says. Early observations have shown that religious service attendance contributes to flourishing. 'It could be that regular religious service attendance gives people purpose, maybe it gives them meaning in their life, and these are major factors in flourishing,' Johnson says. 'But maybe it also gives them support networks.' Young people's lack of engagement in group activities more broadly could be impacting their well-being, Johnson says. Despite ranking highly in financial security, countries like the US and Germany fall behind in areas like close relationships, meaning, and purpose. Meanwhile, societal emphasis on individualism may make young people less inclined to engage with and support their neighbors and peers. 'Once you really, seriously think of others,' Johnson says, 'instead of just focusing on yourself, it is, in fact, a game changer for so many people.' Social media is commonly cited as a culprit of young people's suffering, and Johnson believes it plays a role, due to the negative impacts of comparison online and forgoing in-person socializing for digital connection. But isn't the sole contributor, he says. It could also be that young people's flourishing levels improve with age, time, and change in circumstances. Researchers will continue to survey the same sample of participants over the next few years to find out, Johnson says.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gen Z Youth Is Totally Restructuring the Way Researchers Visualize Happiness — & It's Not Good
Happiness is a hard thing to quantify. How do you take a subjective feeling and make it a fact? It's something researchers have grappled with, and that subjectiveness is why most studies about happiness (or any emotion) have to be taken with a grain of salt. But for a long time, researchers have thought of the human experience of happiness as a U-shaped line graph. People are typically really happy in their youth (Oh, the joys of adolescence!), and that feeling dips as they reach middle age (Here comes that proverbial crisis!). And then, as adults get even older, they begin to feel as content as they were when they were young (Bring on the Golden Years!). More from SheKnows Gen Z Students Graduate College This Month - This Is What the Majority Are Thinking New research is quite literally squashing that idea. Instead of a 'U,' Gen Z is so unhappy that their early years are more in line with the happiness levels of middle age. What does that mean? Basically, researchers have to start thinking of happiness as more of a 'J' than a 'U.' This week, a collection of papers in Nature Mental Health, based on a collaboration between Harvard and Baylor University, and the findings are bleak. The data, which comprised of self-reported surveys of more than 200 thousand people in over 20 studies, found that people ages 18 to 29 were generally struggling with happiness, physical and mental health, perceptions of their own character, their ability to find meaning in life, the quality of their relationships, and their financial security. Like we said … bleak. These findings are part of the first wave of data from the 'Global Flourishing Study,' and, as you probably guessed, it found that most participants in Western countries had 'lower levels of flourishing' (AKA not living in a state where all aspects of life were good) until they hit the age of 50. 'It is a pretty stark picture,' said Tyler J. VanderWeele, the lead author of the study and director of Harvard's Human Flourishing Program, per The New York Times. And so the question becomes, as VanderWeele asked, 'Are we sufficiently investing in the well-being of youth?' So, how did we end up here? You probably have some theories (we know we do). There is an abundance of research showing how detrimental social media is to young people's mental health. And climate anxiety probably doesn't help. But perhaps there is more. Dr. VanderWeele said the Global Flourishing Study plans to collect data annually through 2027 to try and understand why so much of Gen Z is not flourishing. And we have to wonder, what does that mean for younger teens? If you ask Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, the science director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, she doesn't think it's great. 'Our welfare is dependent on the welfare of every other human,' she said, per NYT. 'We don't just get to be happy and put a fence around ourselves.' Meaning, if older teens and young adults are so miserable that researchers have to reevaluate what happiness looks like, their younger peers just might follow of SheKnows How 20+ Celebrity Parents Are Raising Their Kids to Be Good Humans Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Dannielynn Birkhead & More Grown-Up Celebrity Kids Wearing Their Famous Mom's Outfits 35 Famous Daughters Who Look Just Like Their Celebrity Moms
Forbes
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
3 Experts Explain Why Gen Z Can't Seem to Find Happiness
Young Gen Z asian girl wearing casual sweatshirt with hoodie over white background. Relaxed with sad ... More expression on face. Simple and natural looking at the camera. How many of you wish that you could go back in time and experience your twenties again? I don't know about you, but I certainly do. For many of us, this decade represents some of the best years of our lives. And why shouldn't it? After all, this was a time of learning, excitement, and adventure. Now, being young isn't for the faint of heart. It's messy, with ebbs and flows that take you around tons of curves along the way. But, for many Gen Zers, they feel like life is simply an endless valley. For them, happiness and, dare I say, hope feels absolutely unattainable to this generation. Just take a look at the recent Global Flourishing Study conducted by Harvard University in conjunction with Baylor University. After analyzing over 200,000 young people across 22 countries, the report found something absolutely shocking. For the first time ever, young people between the ages of 18 and 29, are in a happiness crisis. Happiness is flatlining for an entire generation and many of them can't figure out how to bring this emotion back to life again. So, are Gen Zs the only ones struggling? Well, they're not the only generation, but statistics consistently prove that they are one of the most impacted. In fact, a recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association discovered that over 90% of Gen Zs have experienced at least one physical or emotional symptom due to ongoing stress. However, even though they're the most likely to experience high rates of stress they're actually the least likely to talk about it with those around them because they don't want to be a burden. So, how did we get here? Were there any clues that we missed? Well, to answer some of those questions, I've reached out to three mental health experts and asked them their thoughts on this topic. Here are some of their theories on why Gen Z is struggling to find happiness: Kelsey M. Latimer, Ph.D., psychologist and CEO of KML Psychological Services, suggests, 'Some in Gen Z appear overwhelmed with pressure to be the best in all things, ensuring they have the best college applications and are best positioned for the future.' The stress of perfectionism is massive within this generation. In fact, according to a recent Gallup study, almost one in three Gen Zers believe that they have to be perfect. Interestingly, this number is even higher in girls than boys (40% to 26%). Lynn Zakeri, owner of Lynn Zakeri LCSW Clinical Services, echoes Latimer, but even goes one step further. She says, 'Gen Z inherited the pressure to be emotionally fluent, socially conscious, digitally present, and endlessly evolving—with no pause to just be.' The influx of technology and innovation is incredible and there's no greater time to be a business leader than now. But, has the genesis of tech left us with the growing pressure to constantly evolve? Has stillness become incompatible with the modern workplace and way of life? Zakeri makes the case that Generation Z is struggling to find happiness because society as a whole is more concerned with innovation than introspection. Perhaps she's right. And perhaps there's a way that we can create spaces for both productivity and personal health within the 2025 workplace. Lastly, Daren Banarsë, MA BACP, a senior psychotherapist with a private practice in Central London, England, brings forth one other observation. He reveals, 'I see young adults who've never learned to sit with discomfort, who experience panic when their phones die, who feel physically ill when Instagram is down.' He's not alone in his observation. During an interview with NPR back in 2017, Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., professor of psychology at San Diego State University, postulated the theory that the influx of smartphone usage in 2012 had a direct impact on the rise of loneliness. For years, research has been conducted around the influence of technology in relation to young people, but until now, much of the conversation was based in theory. However, that's no longer the case. Many professionals, according to a recent study by the McKinsey Health Institute, are now discovering a huge connection between social media and how it impacts the way young people see themselves and view their worth. Gen Z is truly struggling to find happiness. Now, perhaps this will change as life becomes more stable or they go through different stages of adulthood. But, as business leaders, we have the ability to impact change and create spaces that foster happiness for our employees now. And that starts with giving Gen Z the freedom to come to work with their whole self, even if they're struggling to find joy. The more they understand that your business is a safe space for them, the more they'll be able to find community, hope, and dare I say happiness.
