Last Friday night, while sitting on my couch in Colorado Springs, I got a text from my friend Gueric that totally caught me off guard. He said, “If you’re willing, I’ll buy your Disneyland ticket if you fly out here.”

Going to Disneyland wasn’t on my to-do list for last weekend, but I knew Gueric wasn’t playing around when he texted me, so I started looking at flights. Turns out his girlfriend, Eryn, had some airline points to spare, which ended up fully covering my flight to California. Then, I was able to find a cheap return flight for Tuesday, which meant I got a few extra days in Los Angeles.

I believe our expectations sometimes go unmet, so they can be exceeded. I ended up having a weekend beyond anything I could’ve ever asked or imagined. I got to spend all day at Disneyland with old and new friends, hang out with my best friend in the whole wide world in L.A., share stories with incredible people who are changing the world, and close out my time having a beautiful conversation with my cousin who’s interning in L.A. this semester.

As I’ve spent this past week reflecting on my weekend in California, I keep coming back to the difference between connections and relationships. To me, a connection is a one-time touchpoint. However, in a relationship, you keep coming back. You keep holding space for that person to love and be loved.

The friendships I have with the people I hung out with in California all started with an initial connection. Some of those connections were in person; some were online. However, if I would’ve just kept those interactions as connections, I would’ve missed out on the beautiful gift that is being friends with these people. Those relationships were built on consistency and showing up for one another.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be someone who’s more about relationships than connections. More about consistency than convenience. More about depth than breadth.

Who’s with me?

“You don’t need the whole world to love you. Just a few good people.”  – Charity Barnum, The Greatest Showman

With love,