One thing my mother always pushed me to understand growing up was the importance of making meaningful connections with the people you meet throughout your life. For years, I thought she meant friendship or family. I thought she was talking about kindness, about being social, about having a strong circle. And while she absolutely meant those things, I now realize she meant something bigger.
Connections are not just friendships. Connections are transactions, they are opportunities, and in many ways, they are more valuable even than money. When my mom talked about connections, she didn’t just mean making lifelong friendships. She meant your uncle’s best friend you met once at a barbecue. Your friend’s older sister, who works in a field you’re curious about. A professor who challenges you in office hours. A boss who notices your work ethic. Every person you meet carries potential, a potential that is incredibly important for you utilize.
For most of my educational and early professional career, I operated under the belief that I could do it on my own. If I worked hard enough, if I studied long enough, if I proved myself through sheer effort, that would be enough. This is true in many ways. I did do it on my own, and I made it to where I am today. But upon reflection now, I underestimated the structure of the world around me even when attending a high-level undergraduate institution.
Then I got to law school. Law school has not just been an academic experience. Law school is about immersing yourself in the legal world of your choosing. For me, it was a giant leap into the world of business, professionalism, and high-level relationship building. You quickly realize that your classmates are not just classmates. They are future colleagues, future opposing counsel, future judges, future business partners. Your professors are not just instructors; they are mentors, references, connections in their own right.
These past few months, I have become more and more grateful for my mother’s words. For the lessons she taught me about how to communicate, how to follow up, how to maintain relationships, and treat every interaction with intention. You would be shocked at how far a thoughtful email or a genuine coffee chat can go. These are important dynamics that I suppose every young adult who is entering the real world experiences. It has become so stark to me how much influence the connections you have, or make, or nurture have.
There is a reason people talk so much about that elusive term, “networking.” If you asked me eight months ago how important that would be to me today, I would be shocked. I spent years thinking very little of it, believing success was purely merit-based. And while merit absolutely matters, the relationships you make and how you use them amplify it. To me, it speaks to the dynamics of our society today, and it is incredibly important that generations of young people who are entering the job market or leaving their parents’ homes have the skills to navigate these dynamics.
I turn 23 in a few weeks, and I can confidently say that this year is the year of connectivity.