When it comes to college, the party scene is always marketed heavily. College is supposed to be “your last chance” to have fun before the real world. While that may be true, what’s really important about college is the people, the friendships and connections you make. In regards to college, there are some unwritten rules that help prepare you for what’s in store.
Everybody has their personality but when it comes to interactions, most people fit into one of three categories: social, antisocial or in-betweener. The social ones find interactions to be a breeze. They can start a conversation about something as insignificant as a dead ant on the concrete. The inbetweeners stay in cruise control. The anti-social ones are the ones who usually need some help. They rather just stay behind the scenes, the ones you’d see in your local coffee shop enjoying a nice piece of literature with a cup of coffee and a cinnamon scone.
I was there once, anti-social friends. Believe it or not, there are a lot of nice people in college; everyone has a clean slate now, so finding acceptance somewhere is a lot easier. There’s always plenty of people who are interested in the same things as you. It’s just a matter of being willing and open to interactions.
I quickly learned this after attending a general body meeting for an organization on campus. I went in with a laundry list of anxieties and doubts. What if nobody gets my sense of humor or thinks I’m weird? I remember the room being jam-packed with people, so I had to find a place against the wall closer to the front of the room. This was definitely not my intention.
I kept my head down until the meeting started to avoid eye contact with anyone. But when the meeting started and we did an ice breaker exercise, I was surprised to find we all weren’t that different from each other. I might have found some new friends.
The hardest part is making connections with new people. The next step is to keep that communication. This can be a hard task because of the sheer number of humans you’ll meet, but it’s very important. To make friends you must be friendly, and besides, you never know who could help you somewhere down the line or who you might run into years from now. You’re building your support system here.
Having that tight knit group of friends to rely on for guidance is key. Not only do you create memories but also you build bonds. Sometimes we forget how to make friends because we haven’t done it in a while, but remember: Everyone is in the same boat. And I promise, you won’t sink.
