Starting college is never easy, especially if you’re an introvert who doesn’t know anybody.

As hard as it is to make friends, it isn’t impossible. I, myself, am an introvert, and it was hard for me during my first year of college because I was extremely shy and didn’t know how to put myself out there. Slowly, but surely, I made friends. Yes, it is possible for the shy kids to make friends. There were two main reasons why I made friends in college.

If you are dorming, start off on a positive note by being friends with your roommates. When you get along with your roommates, you’ll most likely end up hanging out with them and meet everyone that they meet. My roommates and I weren’t the best of friends, but we didn’t know anyone, so we stuck together and went to parties together, ate together, and did everything together. Try to see if you click with your roommates. If not, try talking to the people on your floor. Every morning, I would say “good morning" to everyone I saw on my floor, whether it was in the bathroom or in the hallway. They all would smile and say it back. At night, when the girls were getting ready for a party, I would compliment them and say that they looked nice. This type of small talk always leads to something more. For example, there were only three guys on my floor and the rest were girls. I would always smile and be friendly to these guys, which ended up leading us to become friends and get dinner together. Sometimes, I would get dinner by myself and they would see me and ask if I wanted to eat with them. I also left my dorm door open at all times so the girls on my floor would walk by and say “hi." This lead to them invite me out to eat with them. So, make sure to leave your dorm door open during the first month because that’s the best time to get to know everyone on your floor.

Next, try joining clubs and extracurricular activities. When you join a club, you’ll meet people who share the same interests as you. I joined a photography club and ended up making some friends due to this common interest. Whatever your interests may be, join those clubs. Art club, newspaper, student life, tennis, basketball, etc. When you have the same interests as someone, you’re bound to become friends. When I was in photography club, I would say “hi" to everyone in the club. Most of the time, they initiated the conversation, but it allowed us to become friends outside of the club and exchange numbers. Of course, you would have to reciprocate the greetings and make an effort in the conversation. If someone is trying to talk to you, then you should continue to talk to them. Answer their questions and smile. Get to know them. If you’re trying out for the tennis team, ask your teammates about athletes they look up to, or ask them if they’ve seen the latest tennis competition. A lot of the friends I made in college were through the clubs and organizations that brought people together through their common interests.

These two tips really helped me to make friends. As of today, I still keep in touch with a majority of my college friends and I still try to hang out with a few of them, but it is hard due to schedule conflicts. In order to make friends, you will have to step out of your comfort zone and make an effort, and it’ll be worth it in the long run. I am the most shy person anyone will ever meet, but I was still able to make friends in college.