Making New Friends at College

College is largely about studying, but you can’t forget about other things as well. You need to have some free time to relax and do your hobbies whether it is playing video games, reading a book or just watching some TV to get your mind off of classes. You also need to communicate with others around you. Making new friends at college doesn’t mean you’re going to forget about your friends back home. In fact, you may make quite a few friends at college that you will stay close to for a very long time. So as you start and go through your years at college, don’t shut yourself off from friends and opportunities.

College is overwhelming at first. It always is for everybody, so don’t be afraid when you first move in. There are so many new things going on at once. From being in a new place to being around a lot of new people to college courses, there’s a lot that can be overwhelming at first. Making new friends can seem quite scary at first and you may wonder how in the world to make new friends. It may have been a long time since you made new friends because you may have been around the same group of people since you started school in kindergarten.

There are ways to make new friends without purposely trying to make new friends. Talk with people in your college classes. Maybe they’re wearing a shirt of your favorite band or movie and you can start a discussion about your common interest. Get involved at your college with sports, clubs and other activities. Your college will have a lot of activities going on even if you’re not involved with sports or clubs, so keep watch of things you’re interested in – they might be listed on a message board in your class buildings, in your residence hall or even sent through email. These events may seem awkward at first because you don’t know anyone. If you feel super awkward and alone, you can even bring your roommate and use it as a bonding experience with your roommate! Don’t forget about your roommate – get to know him or her. You may become friends (I hope) and you may even become best friends with your roommate.

Again, college can be overwhelming and scary at first but once you get used to being there and you start making friends you will have a lot of fun and enjoy the experience no matter how many English essays and exams get piled on your to do list in one week!