College VS High School: A Guide to Social Life

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There’s no denying it, from a social perspective, like many others, college is intimidating. It’s okay though, it’s made out to be an ideal in college, but you don’t have to be the life of every party. In fact, you could only have a handful of friends in college and still have a rewarding social life. Enjoying the social life that college has to offer is all about what your personality is and surrounding yourself with enough people to support you and make your college experience a fun one.  

Places to Meet People

  • Don’t expect to meet people randomly in college. It’s an ideal that people talk about, but chances are you won’t become friends with people by sitting next to them at the dining hall or saying hi or any of those clichés. Some people have definitely made friends like that, but you’re far more likely to meet people by having things in common with them, like participating in the same group.
  • Work 
    • Most people find it surprisingly easy to be social at work compared to other places. This is mostly because two people with nothing in common are being forced together for a shift and given common tasks. This means that even if you’re nothing like your coworker or there’s a pause in the conversation, you can always talk about work. Additionally, if you work near campus or on campus, you’ll likely be working with other students.
  • Class 
    • Similar to work, you might not have much in common with another person. You might have two completely different majors, but you’ll be taking the same class. This means you’ll be able to talk about the class, exams, and other common stressors. You can also communicate whenever you need help or you’re stuck on a problem.
  • Extracurricular Activities  
    • This is fairly self-explanatory, but if you’re big into chess, for example, and you join the chess club, you’ll find it easy to make friends even if you’re not a social person. The same thing goes for any other hobby, service, sport, or other activity.
  • Dorm 
    • Because of your close proximity, roommates and people on your floor will quickly become friends with you because you see each other all the time. If you want to see each other, you’re not very far away. If you’re going somewhere, you don’t have far to go to meet up, meaning you can go get dinner or go to the gym without inconveniencing anybody.
  • Through mutual friends 
    • Once you’ve made friends in a couple of these areas or even just one, your group of friends tends to go from it because people will naturally introduce each other to their own friends and then those people, likely having a common interest, can also become friends. Getting together with friends from your high school is another good way to do this. 

Tips

  • Don’t sit around worrying about making friends. If you have the mindset of “I’m going to go make a friend!” then, chances are, you’ll come off as weird or not genuine 
  • The more you go out, the more friends you’ll find along the way. That doesn’t mean you have to go to parties all the time, but put yourself out there if you’re interested in being more social. 
  • If you want to keep to yourself in college or if you only want a handful of friends, then feel free. College is different than high school in that nobody will judge you about what you’re doing, like eating or studying alone 

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