Dear Darling,
So excited you’re going to be answering questions now! I’m on my college campus over the summer working, but my usual group is gone. What are your best friend-making tips?
–In Need of Friends
Ahh summer time. A time for sunshine and sun tea and COMPLETE AND UTTER BOREDOM BECAUSE EVERYONE IS ON VACATION. It’s hard when you’re friends leave town. You want to go to the movies and get ice cream and burgers and ice cream burgers (patent pending) but with who??
Making new friends is never easy, but meeting new people while knowing that your regular compadres will be back in town in August can seem extra hard. So here it is Darlingites:
MICHAEL’S TOTALLY AWESOME GUIDE TO MAKING SUMMER FRIENDS QUICKLY WITHOUT BEING WEIRD OR AWKWARD
(or for short, M.T.A.G.T.M.S.F.Q.W.B.W.O.A.)
Tip 1: Work Friends
You said you are working, which using my innate sense of perception, tells me that you have a job. Unless your job is sitting in a room alone and pressing a giant red button every time the purple light comes on, you probably have co-workers. Use them! Talk to them! Find out if you have any similar interests, ask if anyone wants to grab some fries from that cool place where they bring your food to you on roller skates. Bring in donuts! Everyone likes donuts! You might just find out that you’ve been working with friends this whole time without even realizing it!
Tip 2: Clubs ‘N Stuff
Maybe everyone you work with is lame, or maybe you don’t wanna mix work and free time (I get it, I don’t like to mix pizza and peanut butter before 6pm). If that’s the case, then you need to explore new worlds, seek out new friends and new civilizations, to boldly go…to a book club or something! With the help of our best friend, the internet, you can find all kinds of activities! People who like to go on exciting outdoor adventures, groups that go to different restaurants and rate their mashed potatoes on a scale of 1 to Life Changing. If your campus doesn’t have a great activities calendar or you’re not finding the right fit, check out sites like Living Social! The key is, once you’re there – start a conversation. Get to know the people around you, and BOOM! New Summer Friends.
Tip 3: Follow up and Follow Through
None of these tips will work if you don’t answer your text messages!!! Sometimes when we’re sad and missing people, we can shut down and turn off. If someone you met at that free fencing class you found on Groupon sends you a text asking if you wanna hang out, say YUSSSSSSSS! That awesome, cool new friend you found could disappear pretty quickly if you never actually follow through on making more plans. On the flip side, when it comes to people responding to your friendship advances, take Cia’s advice and have a rubber band friendship heart. Wait about 2 and half minutes wondering if they’ll reply to your text about grabbing pizza and then MOVE ON! Summer is short, and no one wants to spend it staring at their phones (unless it’s to watch Dear Darling Vlogs of course!).
So there you have it the M.T.A.G.T.M.S.F.Q.W.B.W.O.A.! Making new friends during the summer can be really exciting. Who knows! You might meet a new friend that totally jives with your regular crew and they’ll all thank you for making the group even better! And Hey, if it turns out your summer friends aren’t all that great – you’re old friends will be back soon!
Michael OUT!
