You may have clicked on this article because of the enticing Beatles' lyrics as my title. I’m sorry that I’ll disappoint you here, but this is not about the ever popular 60's band. Instead, this centers on how life is all about the bare necessities.

In this past year, I have grown a tremendous amount. I went away to college, and therefore, I moved away from home. I moved back home once the school year ended. I have dealt with a lot of drama and heartache, in various settings. I tried a lot of new things, I made many new friends, I got involved with new activities. I opened myself up to the world and I really discovered it has a lot to offer. But what is most important is really simple. Love is all you need.

Love takes shape in many different mediums. I found love in my after-class-phone-calls with my parents, as they settled in at home after their work days and I walked back to my dorm after my day of classes. I found love in counting down the days until I was reunited with my hometown best friends, my siblings and my dogs. The anticipation made me anxious but so excited because the reunion would always remind me how much I cared about my people. I found love in Friday night movie nights with my new friends at college, who became my family away from home. I found love in Skype dates with my boyfriend and sharing the minute details of our days with each other. Even meetings with my professors, who genuinely cared about my success and my well-being, made me realize how much I was supported.

Connections are the most important parts of life. Do what you want with the relationships you have in life, but when you completely take advantage of them, to their fullest extent, you will find love in some hidden corner. Opening my eyes to life made me realize how many people were hidden in my corner and how much love really was in my life. Taking advantage of my household of warmth and unconditional love before I went away to school made me hit a wall of reality when I wasn’t connected by touch to those connections anymore. I had to adapt, but the love, support, and encouragement never wavered.

So, I am here to say that while material items are beautiful, admirable and desirable, raw human connection is where the future is. Conversations are where ideas come from. That’s how the future will thrive. Keeping connections and relationships raw, emotional and real will make life so much more meaningful. Making an impact is so much easier when your life is full of love, and we all live lives full of love. We just have to stop squinting and find the love that is surrounding us.