What is one supposed to do when their social life has been ripped from their hands with one sentence…Congratulations class of 2018 you are now officially a graduate. 😋
What is one supposed to do when their social life has been ripped from their hands with one sentence…Congratulations class of 2018 you are now officially a graduate. 😋
I seriously miss college life and actually going to school, seeing new faces everyday, and seeing my friends everyday. Such a big part of my social life is gone and I’m sad lol… worst part of it all, it’s only been two months… help. How does one cope with such tragedy?! All jokes aside, the transition from your college social life to OFFICIAL adult life can be rough. This transition applies to everyone, I’m talking about those who went away and came back home after college, the ones that moved to an entirely different city after graduation, or those that went to a university in their hometown but still need to adjust to this new form of normal.
Making friends when you were younger just seemed so natural. As a kid I would simply go up to someone and without hesitation ask “You want to be friends?” and that was that….I’d have a new friend to play Barbies with in just seconds. But as you get older, the simplicity of making friends seems to be anything but easy. So how does one go about making new friends as an adult? How can one create a new social life after their exciting college life?
Well I think the first thing you have to do is consider the type of friends and people you want to surround yourself with. I’m lucky enough that I have found some pretty incredible friends… Some here in Miami, some in Los Angeles and even some in other counties, but I created those friends by doing one thing… letting go of feeling insecure or fear of rejection.
I think a lot of us limit ourselves when it comes to making friends or meeting new people because we are scared of being judged or rejected. We’re scared of coming off as weird or strange. But what’s so strange about talking to someone? Why do so many of us feel embarrassed or out of place when meeting new people? In order to make friends sometimes you have to push yourself to be a little more outgoing… sometimes you have to find that little girl (or boy) that used to simply ask, “You want to be friends?”. The reason why it felt so natural and simple when we were younger is because we were comfortable with ourselves and had no fear of judgement.
I’m not saying go up to someone and ask them, “You want to be friends?”, but if you want to connect with people, sometimes you do have to be a little more daring and step out of your comfort zone.
So I thought I’d come up with some ways that could be great for anyone who’s seeking to make new friends in this new adult life.
- GET OUT OF THE HOUSE: If you work from home, or are relaxing for the summer, don’t stay locked up and hiding at home all day. Work from a cafe, go to the beach alone, or simply take your dog to a dog park for an hour. Just by simply getting out of your house, you can meet new people… and if you don’t meet new people, at least you get some fresh air!
- SLIDE INTO THOSE DMS: Slide into those DMS and use social media to your advantage. There are so many cool people that we follow on the daily. When I was living in LA, I DMed a few people/bloggers that I followed to see if they’d want to meet up and hang out. I met some of the nicest people by simply doing that. Social media is all about connecting, so don’t be scared to reach out.
- CONNECT WITH OLD FRIENDS: Connect with your old bestie from high school, middle school or even elementary. Grab lunch, go to the movies, get some drinks, just catch up.
- HAVE A GET TOGETHER AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO INVITE THEIR OTHER FRIENDS: Have a get together where your friends have to bring their friends. This way you have people you feel comfortable around and you get to meet other awesome people.
- TAKE SOME SORT OF CLASS: Take a salsa class with your bff, take a cooking lesson alone, maybe take a group workout class…. Immerse yourself in something that interests you and meet new people that are interested in the same thing. Don’t just go to the class, not talk to anyone, and leave lol. Just start small talk, say high to everyone you pass, complement a person’s outfit. Just interact.
- JOIN A GROUP: There’s everything from a running group, biking, painting or even a church group. Surrounding yourself with people that have the same interests, hobbies and passions as you makes creating friends so much easier.
Making new friends isn’t easy, and it’s not always going to be successful. Sometimes you’re going to meet people that just don’t vibe with you whatsoever, but other times you may actually find the coolest and kindest souls. I think we can all agree that after you put yourself out there and do make those connections the end result of great lasting friendships is so rewarding!
This is so important especially since I just graduated so I love this!
Briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/