Since the beginning of this pandemic, we all have been worried about how it will affect our first year of college this fall semester. To tell you the very least, it has been hard. It has affected me mentally the most because of how stressful college is, and on top of that, transitioning to a new campus can be very different from the transition to high school. Here I am a month later and I’ve learned many new things about myself; I’ve learned that it is okay to not be okay, but also hold yourself accountable. We have to figure out how to live through and with this pandemic as college students. An important aspect of navigating through this whole pandemic is to connect with people and make friends. This raises the essential question, “how do we make friends while we’re in a global pandemic?”
As cliche as this sounds, initiating the first move will be the start of a friendship blooming. It can be very nerve-racking now because we are currently wearing face coverings, so it is hard to see each other’s beautiful smile and really connect with each other. You can start off with a simple introduction: state your name, where you’re from, and what your major is. Then, ask a follow-up question. It could be simple as “how was your day” or “how are you doing”. These simple questions can really mean a lot to a person who you don’t even know.
It’s important to get out of your dorm or your house (when/if you can), as well as doing fun activities together with the people who bring you joy. You could go on little fun dates and adventures, but be sure to be socially distanced and keep it to a minimum. If you’re not comfortable going out yet, you could always arrange “distanced hangouts” via zoom calls or facetime. That’s a fun way to get to know the person a little better, and it gives you the opportunity to “get out” a little (even if it’s just in your backyard or a nearby park). If you don’t feel like leaving your house, some examples of what to do in a virtual hangout could be cooking a dish together via zoom call or facetime, or being each other’s virtual workout partner. The list could go on and on. There are many amazing things you could do to spice it up and still have fun while being in a pandemic. In addition, now that the orders for the pandemic have slowly been lifted, you can take this advantage to go out with your new people and be able to see each face to face in real-time. Taking this opportunity you could go to the beach and have a beach day and learn about each other’s personality or do a little picnic at the park. The amount of ideas are endless.
Overall, it takes time to build solid friendships. You need to be patient, just be yourself and everything will follow. We may be in a pandemic but that won’t stop us from meeting new people and building connections early on. To conclude, building solid friendships doesn’t come overnight, you have to work for it if you really want to make good friendships, despite it all the right group of friends will come together just be patient and be nice to everyone because one day it will come back to you and you’ll have supportive friends.