Friendliness = Friends

Since entering college…or maybe even as early as when I got my first job (yay me!) at the beginning of summer, I feel like I’ve been meeting people non-stop!

I had to meet my various new co-workers. I got to meet the customers. The regulars. I’ve gotten to talk to people I actually went to high school with, who I never actually spoke a word to until they walked into the line of my till.

Going into college, I began meeting my instructors, my classmates, my future classmates, and people I may possibly be working with or for in the not-so-distant future.

Now with meeting all of these new people, I think I feel confidently enough to say that I’ve made a few friends at least! (If I hadn’t, that would be sort of sad :(…) Through these new friends, I’ve met their friends, their boyfriends and so on.

Now if you’re still reading, you are probably wondering where this is going. So where is this going? I suppose what I am trying to say is that you want to be open to the opportunity of meeting new people where ever you go.

Some of the customers we get, and even some of my regulars, I would say I have a good friendly relationship (or acquaintanceship should I say?) with them, which I wouldn’t have had otherwise if I hadn’t tried to be a nice friendly person and make conversation.

You’ll also make friends with some of your co-workers! While you may not like everyone (that’s okay!) you probably will be spending a lot of time with your co-workers, and with that you probably should try to get along with them. Who knows, you might become really good friends with some of them! I did. You can always find a way to make friends, no matter the situation you’re in. Now me and her like super tight, and we even have street nicknames for each other (Yes we are THAT cool. No worries, I know y’all are jelling).

I also wouldn’t have gotten to know those people I hadn’t said a thing to in high school had we not asked one another how school was going and etc. While some of these things may just be out of formalities, sometimes okay or even nice or good things can lead from them.

So just be open for opportunity and even on the look-out for it.

For example, while I don’t know many people outside of my program, or even my class, I have made a friend in business! How? We met in the bathroom when I dropped my phone and we both gasped because I didn’t have a case on it (note: I have bought two cheap cases since but I’m not crazy about them so my phone is naked once more).

She started talking to me and we had a good conversation. After that we’ve run into each other a few more times around the campus and even in the bathroom again! Even though we’re not like bff’s, you don’t have to be everyone’s best friend. Just be friendly and pick up friends along your way!

And she is not the only friend I’ve made. I am an avid consumer of food because I human being who rarely brings lunch and so I often end up buying food or snacks and such and often go to the places where you can buy food on campus. Did I lose you? Well if I have, I’m trying to tell you I’ve made friends with the cashiers.

Being a cashier myself, I know how someone with a bad attitude can be a huge pain. Customer service jobs require you to be nice to everyone but when a customer makes it easy for you to give them quality service, well it makes your day easier. So regardless of whatever’s going on I always try to be super nice to cashiers and be kinda chatty and when you buy food as often as I do, you get to be on a first name basis with the employees. Don’t be afraid to talk to them or strike up a conversation! If the store is slow, they won’t mind talking! Cashiering is boring when the store is empty. If it’s busy though, save any heart to heart conversations for another day.

You can also meet friends and network through speakers who talk at seminars. If that’s a thing you do or if you’re like me and it’s one of your classes, go talk to them afterwards. sometimes they might be in a rush but introduce yourself and ask any questions you had! They’ll love knowing that someone was interesting in what they had to say and it’s a great way to get your own name out there.

Another way of meeting people, though super common, is through friends you already have! It’s fantastic because sometimes you may already have common interests if they’re friends with your friend. In a way it’s like a blind (friendship) date. You may or may not like each other. You may or may not get along. You might hit it off and there might be awkward gaps of no conversation. The beauty of it though is that it’s completely different every time. And every time it’s a success, you now have a slightly larger group of friends to go out with and have fun!

So my point being is just be happy and friendly wherever you go and trails of friends shall follow! Don’t fret if there’s a bad day and you feel awkward and antisocial – I get those days all the time. The thing is to power through those days and treat every day different. Go in with great expectations. If you assume everyone in the room hates you, and don’t try talking to them out of fear that they do, then they simply won’t know you and it’ll be so much harder to find opportunities to be friendly later if there’s a stereotype of you being standoffish or not talkative!

Don’t fear that people won’t like you. Some will, some won’t. It happens. But if you don’t try you might not find the kind of friends who truly matter.

P.S. Below is a link to this hilarious video my best friend showed me. It’s awesome. Sharing videos like this or even doing something crazy like this are also fun ways to make new friends. Enjoy.