Your freshman year is the hardest adjustment year between harder classes and starting your life completely over with new friends and being separated from your family. Some of you are leaving home while your best friends are staying local. It is time for you to spread your wings and fly. If you are outgoing and love meeting new people, I have a few tips for you. Making friends can be kind of hard when you do not know a single person on campus besides your roommate. However, here are a few tips on how to spark friendships with new people.
1. If you are not a sporty type of person, then join a club on campus! Even though the club might not be exactly what you had hoped for, it is a great way to start meeting a few people and once you finally get your foot through the threshold of meeting that one person you hit it off with, chances are you will learn how to meet other people just as fast.
2. If you are a sporty person, get to know the people on your team and befriend them! My first friends were the girls that were on my softball team up at college and I could not have asked for anything better than them. One was my roommate and that has made the rooming situation so much easier.
3. Leave the door to your room open. If you are in a dorm room, then while you are in your room unlock your door and leave it open (make sure your roommate is okay with it also). I was lucky enough that my roommate did not care if i had the door open, as long as when her or I left for class that the door was locked.
4. Leave yourself enough time in-between meeting your new besties and class in order to take a quick nap and get that homework done. You're in college now; it is time for you to learn how to handle your time properly or you will not have those new friends for very long.
5. Befriend your RA - not only the one in your hall or on your floor, but everywhere. The RA's know the most about what activities are going on around the campus and they are also some of the nicest people!
6. Go out! Enjoy yourself! I don't mean to parties necessarily, but have a video game party or have everyone go out to a restaurant!
And lastly:
7. Enjoy yourself. It is college and you will be stressed and want to pull your hair out because your Professor gave you four papers on 3 different subjects and you will question your entire career choice. However, having a few great friends will help get your mind off of everything! And who doesn't want life long friends?
