Hello friends! So if you read my first post (or if you know me in real life) you'd know that I'm going off to college next year. I will most likely be going out of state for this, which means I will know very few people (if any at all) going in. Consequently, I'm going to have to make all new friends. Luckily, I have a little experience with this; over the summer, I had the opportunity to go on a trip to France and Spain. I didn't know anyone else on the trip at first, but I ended up becoming good friends with all of them. Here are a few easy steps to follow when you're trying to make friends:
1. In order to make friends, you have to talk to people. I'm a really shy person by nature, so I have a hard time approaching people and starting conversations, but if you want to make friends, you're most likely going to have to do this. It's not as difficult as you might think, especially if the other person is as lonely as you. The first thing I did on the trip was befriend the other girl who didn't know anyone, and she ended up being my most frequent roommate and a good friend. Confidence is key.
2. It's much easier to approach groups of people with someone else at your side. That way, if the group is unwilling to accept you (which, at least in my experience, is a pretty rare outcome), you still have a friend to whom you can talk. It's also much easier to be yourself when you're around someone who is already your friend and who is confident. On the trip, my friend Desi was my friend-making partner in crime. We approached another group from a different state and ended up spending tons of time with them. I talk to all of them to this day.
3. Once you've started a conversation with a potential friend, find a common interest and make sure you like their personality. Don't settle; that friend will make you miserable if you do. If you decide mid-conversation that you cannot be friends with that person, politely extract yourself from the conversation and move on. If they ask you if you want to buy some drugs, they're probably not the friend for you.
4. When trying to make new friends, don't bring along more than your one confident current friend. The more friends you bring, the less likely you will be to talk to new people. If you bring a friend who's not open to meeting new people, you'll feel inclined to do the same. For example, on the France/Spain trip, I was alone and made tons of friends. On my vacation in Mexico with my best friend, I didn't make any because we're both shy.
5. If you don't feel confident enough to approach other people, make sure you look approachable. Body language is key here; crossed arms and a scowl don't make you look like friend material. Instead, try smiling and making eye contact with people. They'll much more likely to come start a conversation with you.
6. This is probably the most important step: if you want to make new friends, you're going to have to put yourself in situations in which you will meet new people. You can't sit at home and watch Netflix all day and then complain about not having any friends. Even going on the Internet can help you meet new people these days (though I would advise you to be extremely careful in those situations). Making friends is easy; you just have to put forth the effort. Trust me; friendship is worth it.
I hope you found this post helpful, and if you didn't, well, go ride a elephant or something. Oh, and stay classy, America!
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