Cowboy boots and jerseys flooded Fort Worth as tourists from all over the world came to North America for the biggest event of the year.

Whether a soccer fan or not, it’s impossible to deny how the FIFA World Cup made the world seem a little bit brighter.

Over the past few years, the U.S. has felt so divided and negative, giving people little hope for the future but witnessing tourists en masse visit America with such awe for the things we witness daily gave people a new perspective.

The most shocking marvel was the romanticization of Dallas overpasses. It became a popular tourist destination to drive through the High Five Interchange with some online deeming it one of the modern world wonders. While some joked in the comments for tourists to stay out of the left lane or to speed up, others commented on how it is oddly refreshing to see.

The South is known for its southern hospitality, which shone bright over the summer, but not just in Texas. Tourists were given a warm welcome across the nation.

One man in particular went viral for sharing his journey of experiencing American culture. From devouring Texas barbecue to shot-gunning a BuzzBallz in a 7-Eleven parking lot, “Bob from Japan” did it all.

While only nine matches out of 104 were held in Arlington, there were fan events all over DFW, most free to attend, where locals and tourists alike joined together to enjoy the matches between 48 national teams. Fort Worth alone welcomed roughly 3 million people with Sundance Square, seeing over 7,000 fans per match, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The energy of the community created was felt all across DFW, even in ways one might not expect. Even people who have never watched soccer wanted to be a part of the celebration in one way or another.

DatingAdvice.com surveyed singles across host cities and found that 50% of surveyors said they had already gone on a date or hooked up with a World Cup visitor.

While the World Cup didn’t prevent countries from being bombed or people being wrongly persecuted, it did make it clear that the people are not the issue, but the government officials in power.

Across social media, many people made comments on how the World Cup is the closest the planet will ever come to world peace.

Strangers celebrated hand in hand, cultures of all variety were embraced and true happiness was felt across languages. It’s so unbelievably rare to have spaces where everyone is accepted. Little did we know, it could be over soccer.

But why stop celebrating with your neighbor? Should we all just go back to our lives ignoring each other simply because the games are over?

The sense of community so many people have yearned for was accomplished over the summer, so let’s keep the energy going.

One way to do that is to be comfortable with going out during the week. We get so caught up in the wake up, go to school or work, go home, sleep, wake up and do it again cycle that, by the time the weekend gets here, we are completely drained.

Now it’s not realistic to say we should go out every single day after work but making that time once or twice a week to see people goes a long way to enjoy life. Whether that’s catching up over dinner with a friend, going out for a drink, taking a walk through a nearby park or even waking up a little early to get breakfast with friends before the busy day ahead.

Or going out to celebrate soccer with strangers of different cultures.

Humans are social creatures so making time outside of the cycle makes life worth living.