How To Make Friends In A New School
This is a guest post written by Emma Eggleston who is the author of the blog, Nineteen Magazine which covers pop culture, college life, and more. You can connect with Emma on her Pinterest and Facebook.
Whether you're going to Uni for the first time or your family has decided to switch you to a different secondary school (or high school for those in the U.S.), the idea of having to make new friends is scary.
The thought of walking into a room full of new classmates makes my heart race, causes my palms to get a little sweaty (ok a lot sweaty) and fills my stomach with butterflies. Maybe you feel the same way.
Here’s the thing. Making new friends in a new school is hard. Unless you're some sort of celebrity you might feel unpopular and like no one wants to hang out with you at first.
That’s normal.
Kids are often rude to new kids for some unknown reason. It’s an unfortunate reality you might have to deal with for a little while.
Whenever you’re in a new environment there are things you're going to have to adjust to and it takes time.
However there are also things you can do to help make the adjustment process easier on yourself and ways that you can connect with people you might not have even thought of.
Here five ways you can make friends in a new school.
Introduce Yourself
Oftentimes we wait for other people to introduce themselves first before introducing ourselves.
The problem is that when two people are both waiting for the other to introduce themselves first, neither say hello and both miss out on meeting someone who could become their best friend.
Even if you're feeling a little shy, be brave and make the first move by saying hi to your classmates even if you don’t know them yet. Who knows it could lead to a great friendship? They all start somewhere right.
When I first went to college, it was really difficult for me to make friends as an introvert and it was hard for me to meet like minded people.
During my first few days there I met a girl who lived down the hall from another girl I was hanging around with initially and she sat down next to us in a lecture.
We introduced ourselves but then we didn’t see each other again for a few weeks. We met again one night when we were coincidentally both walking out of two separate piano practice rooms at the same time.
We walked from the arts building back to the dorms together, started chatting, and decided to meet up later in the week for lunch. Now we’re best buds.
Sometimes you meet your friends in unusual ways.
Join a Club or Sports Team
Getting involved in an extracurricular activity is one of the best ways you can meet new people with similar interests.
I would recommend that everyone join one or two organisations as soon as they start a new school. It’s an easy, natural way to make connections.
Find Other Kids Who Need Friends
If you feel lonely, you should know that you are not the only one.
Chances are there is someone else at your school who feels lonely as well.
Look for that person.
Maybe it’s the girl who sits alone in the cafeteria everyday or the kid who doesn’t talk to anyone in class. Take the initiative to introduce yourself to them and start a conversation. If you don’t know what to say, just ask them a casual question about the homework or start complaining about the school food.
Everyone at your school will likely have those two things, a dislike for homework and cafeteria food, in common.
Talk to the People Around You
Talk to the kid who works with you after school while you’re on your shift. Talk to the kid who sits next to you in class. Talk to your neighbors.
In today’s day and age we neglect to talk to the people around us and instead spend all our time glued to our cell phone screens addicted to the world of anti-social media. (That’s what I like to call it as I believe it has actually led to a decrease in real, meaningful social interactions and a decrease in the development of appropriate social skills.)
Get off your phone for a second, let yourself feel a little vulnerable, and talk to the people around you. Like I said before, you never know who could become a lifelong friend.
Give Yourself Time
Don’t get discouraged with yourself if you don’t make many or any friends right off the bat.
Don’t blame yourself if you struggle to make friends in a new school; there is nothing wrong with you.
Some things just take time. While you’re getting adjusted to a completely new environment everyone else is getting adjusted to having someone completely new in their familiar environment.
Overtime, it will get easier to talk to people and you’ll become more comfortable with making friends in your new school.
If you really enjoyed reading this post, don’t forget to visit Emma’s blog: “Nineteen Magazine” where you’ll find more amazing content that you’ll definitely enjoy. Thank you so much for reading this guest post. See ya :)
