"Got it," and "mine," are two phrases that I have become acquainted with throughout my years of playing volleyball. I was always taught that it was an essential part of the game--letting your teammates know that you had the ball. Calling the ball was just as important in my senior year of high school as it had been when I first learned it in third grade. That is something that is admirable about volleyball and most other sports: teaching the importance of communication. This can easily be translated into everyday life, since interaction is an integral part of being both happy and successful. Being able to communicate effectively is more of a powerful thing than people may often realize. Socially, if you cannot converse properly with others, it can lead to awkward situations. In a job, if you cannot work well together because of a lack of communication, your tasks will not get done properly. There is a reason that many degrees require a communications class. Being able to convey your ideas properly is an asset that should not be taken lightly.

Today, it should be easier than ever to connect with those around us, as we have a plethora of sharing platforms at our fingertips. But that's often not the case. There are people afraid to order their own coffee, or even afraid to ask for help from someone above them. What has made us afraid of communication? I feel that there is one true answer to that: something about our lives being presented on social media has made us less social, whether we're at parties and on our phones or simply preferring to text over call. Social media has acted like a safety net, saving us from awkward situations, allowing us to think and form perfect responses or just ignore a situation altogether. This has hindered our development in communicating with those around us.

Don't get me wrong--I'm all for the use of social media, and I even think it can enhance the way we connect when used properly. When someone can communicate as effectively through an essay as they can through a tweet, or during a presentation as well as through Facetime, it is a recipe for success. We need to stop relying on communication through a touchscreen to be enough, and more of us are guilty of this than we'd like to admit.

I believe that this is something that can be improved on a daily basis. Any chance you get to speak in front of an audience...take it. When you're about to text your friend...call them. If you're at a party with people you don't know...talk to them. Once we learn to step out of our virtual worlds for long enough to actually connect with those around us, our whole society will reap the rewards.