Making friends in college

LONELINESS is one of the principal problems in the first semester. You go from being a member of the oldest and most experienced class in school straight back into the newbie group.

If you’re studying away from home, you’ve also got a new city and maybe even a new culture to deal with. So, here’s how to build up a network of friends.

Firstly, go to everything. Go to every lecture and sit next to someone new every time. If there’s a work group: volunteer. Join clubs and speak to as many people as you can. Say yes to every invitation. Even if you aren’t into art, you may meet someone you like when going to an exhibition.

Secondly, there will be people you click with instantly, and it will be tempting to cling and set up a comfort zone. Don’t. If you have one or two friends, and you fall out or decide to pursue different goals, you’ll have to start all over again.

The more friends you have, the more stable your life will be. When you “click”, see the new friends regularly but keep moving around and making more friends.

Thirdly, as you build new friendships, introduce existing friends to new ones. This helps those who aren’t as enterprising as yourself feel less lonely and it means that you can meet in groups, which is the most efficient way of socialising.

Fourthly, once you have a wide set of acquaintances, set up friend circles. You will soon see that your new friends fall into various groups. There may be musical folks, study buddies, political people, and others.

Sometimes, you can mix and match but you may find that you want to keep your circle of friends separate.