Be it your first, second, third, fourth, or even fifth year in college there is always room to broaden your social circle. Meeting new people opens a whole other world and they transform your college experience. Don’t stress if you’re shy or different! Odds are that you will make friends pretty quickly over here and here’s a few tips to kickstart the process:
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Don’t get stuck with the same group of friends – For you first year students, meeting new people will come quite easy but only if you put yourself out there. Logic will tell you to just keep hanging out with your high school friends and forget about everyone else (please don’t start a little clique like in high school) but that will just deprive you from new opportunities and experiences. I’m not telling you to ignore them, they will still be your friends at the end, but just let it go.
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Choose classes where you don’t know anyone – Freshmen don’t have any power over this since their classes are chosen for them, but other students do! Always try to choose at least one or two classes on your own. Trust me, you will meet new people and you may – or may not – like them but that’s just part of the game; so go ahead and take the risk!
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When it comes to group work or projects, join a group full of strangers – In this case, strangers aren’t bad at all. It serves as a great opportunity to form bonds that could lead to a life long friendships (or quite not)… It’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.
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Talk in class (don’t worry I give you permission) – I’m not encouraging you to do it all the time, but a little disobedience won’t hurt anyone. You will find out that sometimes that is the best moment to tell a joke or ask for a number. Some classes you may find boring enough to play some tic-tac-toe with a classmate, just make sure you don’t get caught!
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Join a club or an organization, it’s just as simple as writing down your name – Become a part of something else, something new, so that when you’re older and remember your college years an image of a full classroom won’t be the only thing that pops up. Sign up for anything you’d see yourself doing, even if it sounds foolish. Consider organizations, like Her Campus UPR, that have students from different faculties and other ways of thinking. It’s not just something you’ll end up putting on your resumé but an experience you won’t forget even if you try to.