Why Making New Friends is Important
Making new friends can help you in a variety of different ways. You can learn how to meet new people and make friends. When you do, you’ll get invited to more events, have a greater sense of community, and generally be happier.
Science backs this up: studies show that as we get older, we need more friends to stay connected in our community. Making friends is a crucial skill that is not taught in school. It can be scary and uncomfortable, but once you know what to do it is exciting and worthwhile!
Ways to Make New Friends
I’ll outline and describe each of these techniques below:
- Join a Club or Organization
- Find an Online Group (and Where)
- Special Interests and Hobbies
- Guided Tours, Especially When Traveling
- Talk to Your Co-workers or Neighbors
- Play games with your peers
Join a Club or Organization
Get involved in any activity that matters to you. It is where you’re most likely to meet people with similar values and interests as you.
Clubs are excuses for people to hang out with each other consistently. Some examples of clubs are:
- Book club
- Music Club
- Science Club
- Gym or exercise class
- Country clubs
- Social Organizations
- Rec sports like football
- Yoga studios
- Foodie clubs
- Ski clubs
Organizations are more purpose-driven. They are a great way to make a difference and create new friends who have similar interests as you. Some examples of organizations are local committees, local non-profits, and language classes.
Students joining new school:
Joining a new school can be intimidating and scary, but everyone is in the same boat! Some people might be lucky enough to go to a new school with previous friends, but many teens are all starting afresh, just like you. It's worrying to start off with, but after a couple of months people will settle down and find others who they click well with, and so will you. And always remember, friendship groups change all the time, so don't worry if friends come and go!
There are so many ways that you can make friends, but you have to remember just to be yourself and not change for others. There will be plenty of like-minded people for you to socialise with and it is important to immerse yourself with a large variety of classmates so that you can get a flavour for everyone, and make a decision on who you fit best with.
Here are some good ways that you can create a good first impression and make friends:
- Be assertive and go and talk to people who you would like to be friends with- I'm sure everyone will make conversation with you. You have to make the effort, so just introduce yourself and make small talk and soon you'll have yourself a new friend.
- Don't worry about your appearance and how you look to others- as long as you are happy in your skin then that's all that matters. In the end, everyone will be fretting about what they look like, and rarely in others so don't worry too much!
- Join lots of clubs that appeal to you and you will find people who share similar interests- this is always a good starting place for friendships. I have a passion for music so it helped when I joined lots of music clubs, and then joined a Saturday music school- you find tons of people who have same hobbies and passions, and this makes it easier to have conversations with them.
- Talk to people in your classes- many of them will be just as scared as you are, and will be thankful to have a conversation with you. After all, we all end up talking to the people next to us about school work, and friendship will bloom from then on!
- Just be yourself and people will want to be friends with you for who you are, not who you pretend to be. Confidence is always key to gaining friends so as long as you look open and friendly, you will be fine!
