A new school year is upon us, and while everyone is already fretting about grades, how mean their professors are, and if buying the textbook for that Intro. to Sociology will be worth it, I want to offer some social life advice. It can be very easy to form ourselves into ready-made social groups, becoming instant friends with those who share daily interests and proximity. We usually, especially as freshmen, hang out most with our dormmates. If we play a sport, our teammates quickly become our best friends. If we participate in music or some other campus activity, we cling to those other participants. It's easy to get locked into forming tight-knit social groups with those who are already most like you, or who are simply the most accessible.
But I want to challenge you this year to branch out. Make friends with people who are from completely different backgrounds and enjoy completely different activities.
I was an athlete in college, and I did spend countless hours with my fellow basketball players. They were certainly my friends, but we made a concerted effort to go as a group to support other teams and athletes. I would never watch certain sports on television, but when your friends are on the field or the court, it becomes a great time. We would sit together at volleyball or baseball or soccer games and cheer our brains out for our fellow competitors. And they usually did the same for us. We basketball players were a tight-knit group, but we extended that group the best we could.
And I personally enjoyed having friends who were not athletes at all. Some of my best friends, by the end of my four years, were those from the music and drama departments, as well as from other majors like religion or philosophy. I enjoyed going to their recitals and plays. I enjoyed getting into deep discussions. I enjoyed learning new things from them and not thinking about sports or my own major all the time. And I had just as much (or more) fun with them as I did my teammates or those I saw every day in my major classes.
Be open to new friendships this year. There are really cool people all over the place, but you have to be willing to meet them and hang out. Invite someone to lunch, chat with someone in a hallway, sit by someone different in class. College is about learning to become a person. Start out by getting to know as many other persons as possible. Have a great school year!
But I want to challenge you this year to branch out. Make friends with people who are from completely different backgrounds and enjoy completely different activities.
I was an athlete in college, and I did spend countless hours with my fellow basketball players. They were certainly my friends, but we made a concerted effort to go as a group to support other teams and athletes. I would never watch certain sports on television, but when your friends are on the field or the court, it becomes a great time. We would sit together at volleyball or baseball or soccer games and cheer our brains out for our fellow competitors. And they usually did the same for us. We basketball players were a tight-knit group, but we extended that group the best we could.
And I personally enjoyed having friends who were not athletes at all. Some of my best friends, by the end of my four years, were those from the music and drama departments, as well as from other majors like religion or philosophy. I enjoyed going to their recitals and plays. I enjoyed getting into deep discussions. I enjoyed learning new things from them and not thinking about sports or my own major all the time. And I had just as much (or more) fun with them as I did my teammates or those I saw every day in my major classes.
Be open to new friendships this year. There are really cool people all over the place, but you have to be willing to meet them and hang out. Invite someone to lunch, chat with someone in a hallway, sit by someone different in class. College is about learning to become a person. Start out by getting to know as many other persons as possible. Have a great school year!