Despite our busy schedules and the exciting things that can happen during college, it’s easy to feel lonely in a new place. It can be challenging to make friends as an adult, but with some effort, you can do it. In this blog we will talk about ways that you can meet new people and make meaningful connections that will increase your support system and happiness.
When you move away from home, you often lose touch with people you’ve known for years, and those friendships fade. School friendships form more easily because, as a kid, you’re in the same place with the same people for hours every day doing organized social activities. When you become an adult, it’s harder to meet and click with people. If you’re passive about it, you will probably find yourself enjoying your own company more than you would like. You need to make a deliberate effort to find new friends.
Shared Experiences vs. Shared Interests
People want to connect with other people for different reasons and in different places. For very social people, meeting people is enough reason. They love being a part of a group, and they are happy to make friends with neighbors, classmates, or coworkers. Other people want to make friends so they can discuss or pursue their interests. They may not feel they have enough in common with their roommates, but they happily bond over playing basketball, talking politics, or creating music.
The same strategies for meeting people will not work for everyone, so it’s good to think about what makes you most happy about being with others and work towards meeting people who you will be comfortable with.
How To Make Friends in College
Below are some strategies that many have found effective for branching out and meeting new people.
Attend Social Events
Social events are designed to give people opportunities to mix and mingle. Fortunately, in college, there are plenty of social events to go to, from parties to networking events to meetups. Many of them are free! Here in our community Meadows Crossing hosts Meadows Meetups for our residents. This is a simple and convenient way to step out of your apartment and have a fun time in your backyard with your neighbors and future friends.
Pursue Your Interests
If you’re looking to meet like-minded people, joining clubs, classes or groups related to your hobbies or interests can be great. Volunteering is another way to meet people and try to make the world a better place. If your goal is to meet people, focus your attention on volunteering opportunities that involve sustained contact with other people, rather than work done on your own or with animals. If you’re passionate about a cause, don’t be afraid to get involved!
Join Online Communities
There is a common misconception that online communities don’t “count” as real friendships. It’s true that social media, forums or virtual communities often do not meet in person, but many people have struck up long-term friendships with people they meet online. If you have an esoteric interest or hobby, in fact, meeting someone else with the same interests can sometimes only be done online. If all of your best friendships are online, however, you may have to push yourself to go out and meet people in your community, even if it’s uncomfortable or less convenient.
Meadows Crossing makes the Livly app available to all of our residents to download. This app offers a Community Feed, polls, event registration, amenity bookings for tanning, online groups to connect with common interests, and the ability to message the office. Using Livly can help our residents bridge the gap between online and in-person socializing seamlessly.
For all of the above you will need to take initiative and be open minded. You may not think you have much in common with people who are from other backgrounds, ages, or personalities, but you would be surprised at how much you can learn from people who are not like you. If you meet someone who you feel a connection with, take the initiative to stay in touch and invite them to hang out. Keep putting yourself out there and be willing to step out of your comfort zone to make meaningful connections.
Human beings are inherently social creatures, and friends are a great source of both fun and meaning in life. Making friends as an adult can take time and effort, so be patient and persistent. In our current culture with our cell phones and very busy lives, we have to make the time to meet people or we risk becoming isolated and without the kinds of social interaction we need to stay happy and healthy.
If you are struggling to make friends here at Meadows Crossing, take the time to check out our Meadows Meetups. We want the best for our residents, and we have designed these events to be a fun and low-pressure way to get to know each other here in our community. For this and so many other reasons, Meadows Crossing is the place to be!