expert at belonging
i’m not someone who usually calls myself an expert in anything.
but a mentor once told me that maybe, just maybe, i’m an expert at belonging.
it stuck with me, because when i think about the spaces i move through—at work, in my community, even in everyday conversations—i realize i’ve always been that person. the one who notices who’s hanging back, who might feel like they don’t fit, who wants to be invited in but isn’t sure how.
i see the gaps. and i feel a pull to close them.
for a long time, i thought that was just being nice. but i’m learning it’s more than that. it’s a kind of superpower—the ability to create spaces where people feel like they matter. like they can exhale and be fully themselves.
in my work, i do marketing and events. but what i really do is look for ways to make the experiences we create more human, more inclusive, more intentional. i ask questions like: how can we make this feel less transactional? how can we remove the barriers that make people feel like they don’t belong here? how can we build spaces that feel like home, even if it’s just for an evening?
when i see someone’s body language soften, when i see a group of strangers become friends, when someone says “i didn’t know i needed this”—that’s when i know i’m doing what i’m meant to do.
belonging isn’t about the big gestures. it’s in the small things. the welcome signs, the name tags that spark conversations, the quiet invitations to join the group. it’s the intention behind it all.
this is the work i love. this is what lights me up. and now that i know belonging is part of who i am, i’m always looking for new ways to create it—at work, in my city, anywhere people gather.
because at the end of the day, we all just want to feel seen, heard, and like we’re part of something real.