Dear Freshman,

College can be a very scary place for some students at first. Making friends is difficult especially if you’re an introvert like myself. I struggled with it for a long time, I was lonely but too shy to talk to people. What really helped me was joining a group. Being a part of the school newspaper really pulled me out of my shell. I was in an environment where I had to work and interact with people to overcome the numerous problems we faced. Slowly but surely, we all got to know each other. I’ve grown from painfully shy around them to Irish jig dancing in the office. You’ll get there.

You should consider joining a group on campus. Find something that interests you and there will be a club for it. However, some people don’t have time for extra curricular activity because of children or a job. In that case, just make an effort to talk to people in class. It’s hard at first, but just by making conversation with the people that sit next to you, you can develop friendships.

But most importantly, if you want to have a successful relationship with anyone, you have to first have confidence in yourself. The best advice I ever received was, “how can you expect anyone else to love you, if you don’t love yourself.” If you know who you are and aren’t afraid to show it, people will catch on to that and want to be around you. So keep your head up, love yourself, and take a brave step to connect with the people around you.

Good luck making new friends and if you ever need more advice, feel free to ask me another question.

Angela