Is it the environment? The architecture and spaces dedicated to the production and preservation of knowledge?

Is it the people? The tutors and classmates who shape and challenge our ideas?

Is it the time? The dedicated space in which to study for its own sake?

Or is it the knowledge we gain?

In 2026, Universities across the world are facing a reckoning. We all know the stats and the headlines. Yet, spaces are emerging in parallel with the university which are fostering intellectual belonging once found within the gated walls of academia. They include feminist reading groups, pub lectures, and anti-fascist book clubs. They include online spaces and communities flocking to the tune of #personalcurriculums and #selfstudy.

Intellectual community is not just about the meeting place or the topics discussed. The value is in identifying safe spaces where our ideas are challenged, stretched, and emboldened. Where we show up as ourselves and find ourselves belonging. Where we engage in the pillars of building and embodying an intellectual life as individuals and a collective.

The Pillars of An Intellectual Life

1. Continuous Learning: In order to live a true "intellectual life”, one must treat their mind as a muscle deserving of care and challenge which can only be found in the act of curiosity and the determination to seek out answers. It is embodied in the library search, pouring through footnotes, developing a web of ideas which overlap, layer, and stretch. To learn continuously is to incorporate learning into the day to day. To engage in the topics and remain curious about things that both entice and repel us.

2. Critical Engagement: A true intellectual existence is one which acknowledges nuance and does away with black and white thinking. There is a repetitive practice of questioning which takes place in the mind of the intellectual. A challenge to the concept of truth and a sense of excitement and even comfort in the state of ambiguity. Nothing is as it seems.

3. Sharing Knowledge: Knowledge is valued in so far as it is shared. Half baked ideas are, in many ways, more intriguing than those which has supposedly reached their conclusion. The intellectual life is one which is shared and enriched by the collective. It is brought together over a cup of coffee or glass of wine, laughter and tears, as well as in the coupled silence of two beings sitting and reading alongside one another, looking up every few minutes to share a moving quote.

4. Listening & Challenging with Care: An intellectual life is also one which is observant. One which does not demand to be seen or acknowledged, as much as felt and embraced. To learn is also to listen. To become a welcomer of lessons presented by another. Our role is not solely to educate but also to make space to be educated. To listen and offer challenge to our intellectual collectives with care and curiosity. To ask questions which might help another make connections or better articulate a point. This is done not to shame or to boast. Instead, this is a practice of deep human care.

Rituals for an Intellectual Life

An intellectual life is not a prescription. It goes beyond a syllabus or curriculum. It is a ritual, a behavior of sorts. It is a state of being as much as it is a set of practices. However, if you are still in the process of figuring our what an intellectual life might look like for you, perhaps these prompts will give you somewhere to start:

• Journal Prompt: What am I curious to learn more about today?

• Reading somewhere that puts you at ease

• Ring up a friend to ask what they are reading, a museum they visited recently, etc.

• Free write any ideas which come into your head (you can even start with describing something in your environment or simply writing “I don’t know what to write”). Keep going for at least 5 minutes.

• Annotate an article and note any sources in the footnotes worth further exploration.

• Review a news article or broadcast and deep dive on any statistic provided (where did this information come from? What was the study? What were the findings? Was it accurately represented?)

• etc.

Intellectual Community

Unlike at University, where classes, seminars, and the common room created the ideal space for the fostering of friendships and intellectual communities, doing so as an adult requires proactive steps. The first is simply the acknowledgement that you, yourself, have to show up and create a space of intellectual belonging in order to receive. There is countless book clubs, community organizations, and writing groups you can join to establish common ground but it does come down to making yourself available and willing to participate.

But don’t worry. If you are reading this, I am willing to bet you are a bit of an introvert. You likely read articles, books, and substack articles and despite the writer’s word resonating with you, you are more comfortable observing.

Good things come to those who wait but if no one knows you’re there, they won’t extend an invitation.

So, consider this an invitation 💌

Accepted Society is a publication but it is also an intellectual community built by and for lifelong learners. And here is what we have going on in the community this week!

This Week in Accepted Society

• Community Led Silent & Interactive Study Sessions: 24/7

• [Online] Self Directed Study & Creative Writing with Cree (Monday, July 27)

• [Online] 5am Club with (Tuesday, July 28)

• [In Person; UK] British Library Study Day with (Tuesday, July 28)

• [Online] Modern East Asian History Reading Group: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen with Kaelyn & Ezra (Tuesday, July 28)

• [Online] Neurodivergent Support Group (Tuesday, July 28)

• [Online] Brainstorm and Write with Kaelyn (Friday, July 31)

• [Online, Italy] Italy Chapter Virtual Meet Up with Stefania (Friday, July 31)

• [Online] End of Week: Write & Reflect with Cait (Friday, July 31)

• [Online] Personal Curriculum Accountability Meeting with Shyah (Saturday, August 1)

• [Online] August Monthly Reset with Kaelyn & Hannah (Sunday, August 2)

Become a Member to Join

What we need is community. And I’m not talking about your cohort or working groups, but a space where you can connect with those who share the same ethos. The same crucial desire for connection, for reason, and to explore one’s thoughts without judgement. Our work may be unique to us and as we delve deeper, it may be impossible to genuinely connect with another who share precisely the same interests but this shouldn’t necessarily be the goal. Instead, what if there was a space where you could discuss your research openly (trials, tribulations, and discoveries inclusive) without concern over judgement, intellectual theft or competition? What would that look like?

To begin, we need to reframe the isolation you may experience or be experiencing:

First, we are not sacrificing; we are devoting ourselves and shifting our focus and priorities to our curiosities in order to contribute to the future of science, humanites, etc.

Second, delving into the research and taking dedicated time away to develop our work may result in less time with friends or family. This is not because we do not wish to be with them but that we are setting new boundaries as an act of devotion to our work.

Third, the communities and spaces which served you at other stages of your intellectual journey (whether this is at a university or as an independent researcher) may not be able to offer the support you seek during this chapter. Reach out to new inter-disciplinary groups of researchers either exploring similar questions or who may be at a similar stage in the process to you (such as connecting with others who are writing up or are in the data collection stage).

And finally, research may require more rest than you have needed before. Rest, social activity, nourishing your body, etc is all necessary to take on the intellectual work. Our brains are working over time. You may need to take more time than you are previously used to in order to “reboot”.

Next, how about a Journal Prompt? :

What would a holistic, well-rounded, and communal “academic life” look like? How might I pursue my research in a way that connects me with others? A what are some things I can change, eliminate or some things I can add, which might make this a possible?

Ways to find and build community:

1. Seek out researchers at a similar stage of the process rather than those in your specific field of study (you might even find that their insights from a different field help you make connections or explore new questions within your own project)

2. Cowork as an entry point. This can be a study day at the library or an hour+ on Zoom. You don’t need to be the best of friends right away, just seek to hold space for one another and write in community.

3. Don’t make it just about work. Find ways to connect beyond your research (knitting, reading, favorite tv shows, etc.) in order to escape the mind bubble of academia and release the pressure valve every once and a while.

4. Now this one is the most crucial! Celebrate the loudest with every little win and hold space to listen and console when someone in the group is struggling. Create a safe space for emotions to run their course without delay or judgement.

5. And last, but not least, be the one to reach out. This world is full of far too many lonely people waiting for someone else to call, text, or DM. BE THAT PERSON! You get what you give. Be there for others and hopefully, they will be there for you as well.

Still struggling to find community? Maybe consider checking out AS, a community for life-long learners (no limit to age, education level, subject, or identity. All who love learning are welcome).

Join the Accepted Society Community

Comment below about someone or some community which has helped you to feel less isolated throughout your academic journey ❤️

With warmth,

The Accepted Team

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Accepted Society is a community of life-long learners committed to education regardless of age, identity, degree or relationship to an academic institution.

Started as a virtual co-working space to wait out the storm during the pandemic, Accepted Society has always been the meeting place of passionate thinkers. Among the first members were:

L - a construction worker by day (or night, depending on the shift) and historian of the Salem Witch Trials by night.

S - a masters student studying PCOS and women’s health but who lacked the confidence in their abilities as a non-traditional scholar

K - an accountant with a passion for 19th century history and law. During the sessions they would work on PhD applications and also discuss their love of thriller novels during the breaks

A - a healthcare administrator studying English Literature

E - a community college student navigating the turbulent transfer process while deciding what it was they hoped to major in.

These members built the foundation of this community. Through those late night study sessions, we came together in solidarity to study but also to yap endlessly on breaks about our passions, our hopes, our worries. We leant on one another when we received bad news or suffered a loss at home but we also celebrated one another for every win - big and small. From sharing tears and excitement when a member was accepted into their dream program, to offering a virtual hug, high five, and heart emoji when one of us sent that email we have been avoiding.

Today Accepted is a place where its various members find support, guidance, solidarity and life long friendships, all in pursuit of knowledge and research. It is a space where wounds are being healed, where inspiration is planted and where life long dreams come true for so many who have been sidelined. It a community that has built itself to the place it is today.

Our community members put it best when they said “it is a place of belonging… A place you can be yourself.” Because don’t we all need that?

When we picture an academic, the picture which often comes to mind is an individual, working by candle-light late into the night to uncover the ever evasive “truth”. Their shoulders hunched, they scribble away in illegible print, a stack of beautiful antique manuscripts askew across the table. And at the end of their caffeine induced stupor, they will emerge from the library victorious, prepared to run across campus to share their findings with a committee of polished, stoic, senior scholars.

This image is a fantasy.

The higher education landscape is changing. Students return to education later in life. They work while pursuing their degrees. Others enroll in distanced programs because of family obligations or the logistics of relocation. Now, more than ever, many are pursuing education on their own terms without seeking a degree. They build out personal curriculums, read and learn for pleasure, yet they all have something in common. They love education but they lack the community and structure by which to become fully immersed in the experience.

It is for these students, this purpose, that we built Accepted Society.

So we leave you with this simple question: If you could pursue education without concern for the cost or the logistics of finding a program, what would you want to learn? What would you seek to discover first?

Please comment your response.

And if you want to pursue it with a community to support your independent journey, please consider giving Accepted a try.

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