A Quest For Community: Why Third Spaces Matter Now More Than Ever

Exploring the Vital Role of Informal Gathering Places in Modern Society

Vaish Shanoj
5 min readApr 18, 2024
A woman with vibrant red hair stands contemplatively in an empty, café.

Now that the term has come to an end and the next one (at least for me) is 4 months away…… what do I do???

Before this point, I was juggling all of my course work and newly acquired adult-person obligations with the limited time I had between each deadline. The only thing that kept me going during this time was my hopes and dreams for the summer.

I would dream of a summer where no days were wasted and I was living my best life, soaking in all the sun I can, reading as many books and listening to as much music as I can and feeling happy, blissful and fulfilled.

But now that spring is here and summer is around the corner and my academic responsibilities are put on hold, I find myself clueless.

I don’t know what to do with my time and it’s dawning on me.

I can only read books or binge watch shows for so long. I can only call my besties and bother them for so long. I desperately need an outlet or rather a place to chill other than home because I’m home all the time and going to my school is not an option. So, where do I go?

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Vaish Shanoj

Neuroscience Student | Love Plants, Reading and Photography. Here is all of my side projects.