College is the place to discover yourself; realize what and who you like, find your interests, maybe pick up a hobby, try to pass all your classes, and make some good friends to make the time pass by.
Unless you’re quiet by nature and afraid to talk in class, making friends and starting conversations doesn’t seem like the hardest thing in the world, until it does. When you’re in elementary and middle school you find that one group of friends that lasts forever and stays with you in high school, but what about when high school is over?
Everyone is going to different places, schools, towns, states, even countries. It’s starting all over again. Some people this don’t feel like this is a real fear or they don’t think it’s that hard to get yourself out there.For others, speaking to a new person in class is their biggest fear. Scared of sounding stupid or weird. Worried that the other person won’t like them or that they’ll come off as some awkward random stranger.
Imagine going throughout all 4 years of college without starting conversations, hanging out with classmates outside of class, exchanging numbers. You’ll think: “Maybe I should have.”You might regret not making that effort to befriend people at school. You might regret not manning up to your own feelings and pushing that fear aside. You might regret a lot of things, and then you don’t even have a school friend to express these regrets to.
My advice to you, is to get out there. Step outside of your comfort zone before it’s too late. Walk to that guy talking loudly about your favorite show and share your thoughts on the latest episode. Walk up to that girl in class with the Hello Kitty keychain and tell you you love Sanrio too!
If you’re not that comfortable with starting the conversations out of the blue, then try to get involved on campus. Whether that be working a desk job at the student center, joining a club or an organization like Her Campus, going to the same coffee shop everyday, joining a study group within your courses, or just volunteering for events or stuff for the class.
Events and places like these will have you with the same people over and over again. This gives you the chance to naturally make a friend or two, or better, a whole group of them. The easiest way is to just let people come to you. Open yourself up to new people and experiences. Talk back when others speak to you. Treat college as a place where you can reinvent who you are and maybe you’ll like who you become.