JAYLA SMITH LEARN HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A STRANGER

by Rokhila Saidasanova - American University of Central Asia

Jayla Smith is a civic activist at Bard College Annandale and the founder of the community-based project "Falling in Love with a Stranger," which raises the issues of human social connection and its importance in people's lives Jayla started her path to civic engagement within OSUN recently, taking part in the Civic Engagement course, which helped her a lot with the formulation of ideas, implementation, and promotion of the project

Disconnection Of Social Communities

Jayla Smith grew up in the Hudson area near Woodstock, New York, in the United States She received a home education and later attended different schools and colleges where she studied subjects interesting to her, such as music, art, writing, etc Now, she has transferred to Bard College With regards to education in civic engagement, Jayla noted that she did not have an introductory point in this area According to her, she did not feel comfortable in the political form of expression of civic activity, such as participating in protests or standing on streets with signs and slogans She is more comfortable talking about it, communicating with people about a particular person's experience She says, "I always like to talk to people about ideas, but I don't feel confident about getting politically involved so much So, I felt more connected talking to people and hearing their stories ”

With this idea in mind, Jayla arrived at Bard College and noticed one fascinating problem that was always present but not always so noticeable Many diverse communities gathered in one college were separated They mainly consisted of local and international groups of students This happened in various educational institutions Jayla attended It was easier for students from different countries to speak and communicate with someone who shared their language or nationality than with someone with a significantly different cultural background

After talking to many international students in the college and learning about their experience of communicating with local students, Jayla became very passionate about "how we could shift their experience, because it seems so great to be in this place with so many different people coming from such different perspectives, but there were so many missed opportunities there " With this reasoning, she wanted to promote interaction between international and local students and create opportunities for connecting these groups This inspired her so much that she used her ideas and skills for this project, and that became her entrance point into civic engagement

Falling in Love with a Stranger is a series of questions aimed at connecting people who would never think of connecting. It is a valuable tool for creating a space to cooperate and communicate with the help of specific questions. After answering a series of questions, the last task is for respondents to look at each other for two minutes, which is the most intimate part but makes the connection even more vital. It is a striking and unexpected experience demonstrating that connecting with a stranger is possible, not becoming friends or partners but seeing that communication is the power.

The question that came up during the discussion of Jayla's project was whether her project is a community need or her interest, to which she replied, "It's definitely both; what I'm trying to follow is the community needs and I am approaching it through my personal interest." She explained that she observed the need to connect people in the community of college students and saw how it relates to her personal interest in having deep conversations. Jayla tries not to position herself as the primary model so that the project is not about her but the people who participate in it. "This project is not about teaching people how to cooperate and communicate. People already know how to do it; they just need to be allowed to do it themselves,” she says. I'm just creating a place to connect."

The main challenge Jayla faced was that she was the only person responsible for everything. She serves many roles at a time–making all the posters and cards with QR codes, organizing materials, picking up food, arranging tables, encouraging participants to interact with each other. So having that immense responsibility made her experience challenging. Nevertheless, the main goal of the event was achieved: approximately 75 people participated and gave their positive feedback on the project, proving the possibility of connecting with a stranger was real!

The project's next phase is searching for an engaged and interested team of diverse people with bright ideas and different experiences to make the project even more dynamic. In addition, Jayla mentioned that although the project is mostly now active on the Bard campus, it can also be implemented on other OSUN campuses in person, or online via Zoom. "I would be happy to see people connecting all over the network using these questions!" she says excitedly.

Jayla advises other civic activists just starting their journey to see what a community is already doing and how you can make an impact. "Keep talking to people about their experiences that might be relevant to your project, and keep in touch with what you're passionate about, but don’t get too involved in what you want and keep your wants separate from what your project is trying to address. Apply your interests and passion effectively to the community needs you are trying to solve."