After living in the same town my whole life, what I've been waiting for all these years is finally here: college. There is just one problem... How do you even make friends?! In kindergarten, I'm not sure how the whole "you're my BFF now" thing went but I'm pretty sure it went along the lines of sharing crayons and sitting next to each other at story time. Here at a campus of 40,000 people, it's a little bit more difficult. My first friend was my roommate, but I knew her beforehand. The next friends we made were across the hall, and eventually we found ones we really clicked with so we stuck together the first week or so. Making friends in my classes is my next challenge. As of this week, my roommate and I have a total of no less than 10 so go us!
The hardest thing about moving to such a large campus is not knowing where everything is at. As freshmen, it's easy to find a group of people and tag along with them in a huge group. You might as well put a big sign on our backs reading "FRESHMEN" by how many people scream it at us as they drive by!
No matter how many people you go up to and say "hi" to, there will always be those people who you click with immediately (or realize you never want to see them again. Either way works I guess). You really have to put yourself out there and branch out of your comfort zone because sitting in your dorm room won't make you very many friends. There have been a few times when a HUGE group of us will just chill in one of our rooms and play cards against humanity. There's nothing wrong with that, but sitting in your room alone 24/7 makes it really hard to meet new people.
Going to all of the freshman events may sound lame and boring but that's where I met most of the people I'm friends with! A group of girls on my floor will go together and then introduce ourselves to new people. It helps knowing that everyone else is on the same boat as you. So when you're standing in the dining hall confused about where to eat or how to go about grabbing your food, just smile at the other confused freshman beside you because believe it or not everyone else was there at some point. I've been having to remind myself that!
Besides it being a kindergarten re-run minus not really knowing how to communicate besides sharing your coloring supplies, the first few weeks of college are the best time to make new friends. You just have to remember that going out of your comfort zone is okay and that if you feel like a nerdy freshman, everyone else on campus has felt that way once or twice (or maybe still does).
