Dear Cringe Reader,
 
When research and design lab SPACE10 and Dazed asked young people to define ‘home’, it soon became clear that this has evolved into a much more fluid concept than the original idea of a dwelling place. To quote their IMPERMACULTURE report:
 
“Home isn’t just a place. Home can be people — the friends, family and communities that nurture and sustain you. It can be a state of being; a feeling of safety; the sense of fitting just right, of complete belonging.”
 
In the face of a housing crisis, not to mention a climate and cost of living crisis which leaves any prospects of a safe future ever more uncertain, it’s perhaps not surprising that we’ve broadened the concept of home. Be it online or offline, where we feel belonging depends on so many more factors than the physical walls surrounding us each day or the world we were thrust into without our consent. 
 
This issue offers some ideas on the myriad of ways that feelings of belonging, safety and home might manifest:
 
Izzy Ormonde’s personal essay (p. 17-22) looks back at her Tumblr days, which allowed people to curate online communities, to which some might still feel drawn to until this day, held together by a shared nostalgia.
 
Long-time contributor Christopher R. Moore spends time with anti-vaccine activists (p. 59-64), who find belonging in their group’s cause, anxieties and belief system, all the while feeling alienated by the rest of the vaccinated world. 
 
As in every issue, we also explore the theme of ‘belonging’ through poetry and art: our cover artist Eloise Knight (p. 2 & 29-34) expresses her desire for belonging and acceptance, as well as the fear of isolation and loneliness through the symbolism and storytelling in her paintings, while Eva Vitkute’s pieces express the detachment from opposing cultures often experienced by children of immigrant parents (p. 35-36). 
 
These and many more are some of the vulnerable reflections, playful observations, and self-aware accounts of our collective desire for belonging which we invite you to reflect on in our fourth issue.
 
We hope that in the process of flicking through the following pages, you too will feel a sense of belonging to this publication’s humble mission: bringing people just a little closer together through a shared curiosity, empathy, and willingness to explore the uncomfortable and often self-conscious, but ultimately human parts of ourselves.
 
As always, don’t forget to #StayCringeBeHumble,
 
Annika Loebig 
Editor-in-Chief