Alone, I pace through castles of stone safe from the elements within my home. Amply fed, I can survive on massive storages as in a hive. Water flows freely from faucet to basin swelling in pools clear and deep enough to play in. Every need met in warmth and safety; my surroundings full but my insides are empty. The one unmet need for which I am longing is to be free with a sense of belonging. For though we’re lacking, together we fly; and yet, with needs met, left alone I die. This poem expresses a great truth about the human need for connection, but it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the excruciating pain we feel when we believe we’re unwanted and know in the core of our being that we don’t belong. Loneliness is the greatest threat to my survival. It creates a lifestyle that I’m continually desperate to escape. My ultimate goal for myself this year is to build a new life of purpose and meaning where, even when I’m physically alone, I don’t have to feel emotionally abandoned.