It’s a new semester. You walk into your newly assigned class and to your dismay, you find none of your friends in the class. You look around and see everyone already sitting in their established friend groups. Disheartened, you walk to the back of the class to an empty seat and sit there for the rest of the semester. It doesn’t have to be this way! Even if it doesn’t look like it, this is a prime opportunity to meet new people and expand your network of friends. Tips and strategies to meet new people follow; these strategies work, not only in school, but also in life as well.

Step one: Listening. this may sound counter intuitive at first, but sometimes the most deafening thing you can do is be quiet and listen. Talking less is an art form that has deteriorated in recent times, as many have forgotten that being social is a two way street. Thoughts and ideas are spoken but not heard . Sean Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, states that you should “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” The first step to making an acquaintance into a friend is first listening, then talking. You’ll find it much easier to communicate with people after you’ve learned what makes them tick, processed their likes and dislikes, and heard what they like to talk about. Listening, gathering information, and showing you truly care about what people say is a massive step in the right direction.

Step two:  Talking. You can’t have a conversation with one person doing all the talking. Think of your first couple conversations with someone with an interview mindset. You ask simple questions at first, receive answers, then build future questions upon responses you received through careful listening. It’s weird, awkward, and clunky at first. However it doesn’t stay like this for very long. You’d be surprised at how many people like to talk about themselves because they often don’t get the opportunity to. Very quickly your “interview” turns into a conversation, with questions and answers being received and sent to both parties.

Meeting new people is hard work, but thankfully we spent a lot of time at school. The hardest part of making new friends is spending time with them often and getting to see them, and school accomplishes that part for us. Whether you’re as suave as the “World’s Most Interesting Man” or you see yourself as dull as a door-nail simply being around people will slowly but surely increase your comfort around them over time. Blue Springs High School is filled to the brim with remarkable and splendid people; all you gotta do is find them!