I found my best friend when I was five years old; we were both nervously sitting in the unfamiliar area of the kindergarten classroom. We shared a mutual feeling of anxiousness and somehow we just clicked. I grabbed her hand and said “Do you want to be my friend?” She smiled with a simple “Yes” and that was it, she’s been my best friend ever since.
Of course, we don’t stay five forever and everything suddenly becomes so much more complicated, especially when it comes to socialising and developing relationships with complete strangers. With the variety of social networking available on the internet, it’s much easier to stay in contact with friends and family or make new friends with the single tap of the mouse. It leaves us to wonder though; what happens when we start our careers, move interstate or overseas or when we want to make new groups of friends?
Think about the billions of people on this earth, in our lifetime we won’t have met even close to a quarter of all those people out there, yet they are all potential friends. You never know who you will get along with, befriend or become close to if you don’t put yourself out there and into the public. You won’t be making any new friends if you’re constantly tuned into your phone or laptop.
Your best chance at making new friends is to appear approachable, smile and make eye contact with everybody including the people you pass on the street or those you meet at a gathering. They are much more likely to be receptive to you if you seem like a genuinely friendly person. Most of the people that you are likely to become friends with are those who you see in your current life; at work, family gatherings, at the usual café or through friends of friends.
If you have just moved someplace new it can be a little daunting, though even if you know one person who lives close to your new home, get in contact with them and meet up. They will usually be kind enough to show you around the place and welcome you into their groups of friends or social scene, another opportunity to meet people.
Once you have met a few people, mention an outing, invite them along and be sure to get their contact number. If you feel a good vibe with someone, build on it, chances are they’re feeling the same vibe from you too. This is where you should add them on Facebook or communicate somewhere online, when you have already met them and have become acquainted.
It’s easy to make friends and create a social life for yourself no matter what the situation, people are everywhere and online social networking is no vital part in any friendship, though it is a great way to stay in contact with those who you are already friends with. We were good without it, now it is nothing more than a simple tool to connect with family and friends. It’s time that we learn to take things back to when things were simple and making a friend was not always via the internet.
