How did YOU find your long-lasting friendgroup?

[u/FootFemgus]

With posts being "I'm a freshman and I feel lonely, how do I make friends?", the advice are all too vague. So I want to hear how you guys personally made your own friends, which is significantly more practical.

[u/iamnottelling0]

Same dorm floor, friends of friends in the dorm, or classes. Still chat or visit occasionally a couple of decades later.

[u/deanthekittycat]

i met my best friend accidentally by bumping into her outside of a bathroom. i met my roommate through high school and introduced the two. we met a third friend at a residential hall event freshman year, and actually met our fourth through reddit. we are going on 3 years of friendship

[u/Spiziapteryx → u/deanthekittycat]

i’m curious on how you made a friend through reddit

[u/deanthekittycat → u/Spiziapteryx]

i made a post asking about christmas lights or maybe it was about going to a frat party? but she ended up dming me saying she was looking for a friend and we got coffee!

[u/AustinTransplant_22]

While at Michigan, it was the same dorm floor, group projects, and clubs.

As an alum, I am piloting a startup for a friend-matching service in Ann Arbor before expanding to US cities/other colleges. I would love to receive feedback from this subreddit on how y'all like it / how to improve!

- Idea: Set up 30-minute 1:1 meet-ups at coffee shops (for undergrads) and bars (for grads) #oldschoolfriendspeedfriending

• Survey: As short as possible: four questions on interests, hobbies, and values (e.g., religion and political affiliation as from ~50 interviews, people say these can be dealbreakers -- so want to get that out of the way --> will pair people based on same, similar, or different values)
  
• Pairing: 30 minutes, talk about anything, and leave whenever desired --> ideally with someone who is on the way to being a friend
  
• Goal: Help students make friends --> no religious, political, or school angle besides making the world a better place via new friendships

Please let me know if you have any questions!

[u/happee_aesthetic]

Working on campus, labs, talking to people in class!

[u/elissabatss]

During welcome week freshman year, I randomly ran into this girl I had texted a bit over the summer. We reconnected when we officially met, learned that our birthdays are only a few days apart, and decided to celebrate our birthdays together over brunch where we really both got to let our guards down and bonded over mutual understanding of how hard uni was so far.

I’ve made some other friends through clubs I’m apart of and close proximity in classes, but I wouldn’t say that I have ever truly felt like I have been in a friend group. I think trying to friend group can be stressful, especially considering once you’re in them there can be various drama. I would focus less on finding a group, and focus more on finding individuals who embrace who you are and help make you a better person.

[u/aquilla_m]

In college, the people who became my lifelong friends were the ones who talked to me in class. Sometimes it would be group work, sometimes it would be at the end of class “did you understand the part about…” it was usually followed by making arrangements to meet later to talk about the assignment or material.
The best thing you can do is reach out to the person next to you. The next best thing is to accept it when someone reaches out to you.

[u/JigglyKongersYT]

I made a lot of friends while working at the dining hall. But not really friends I hang out with.

[u/Poop_Tickel]

I gave a speech he liked in public speaking and he packed up quick and caught up with me after class. The best friendships are ones you meet in the most unexpected places. Met my favorite tattooer at the local art shop because we were both looking at the same paint at a weird time of day. Just try and be open minded and friendly

[u/robbie_the_cat]

Jobs, clubs, coop.

[u/SuperIAmTurtleDaBest]

Beer

[u/linds-ro]

I joined clubs, talked to people in my dorm, took opportunities to do things with different people. At UM that might look like seeing if a group of people want to walk to get ice cream together, or see if someone wants to try bouldering at the new gym. Look for people in classes that you get along with and try to study with them. Ultimately, I have a lot of friends- those that I made in undergrad and those that I made in grad school at UM and people I’ve met at jobs or in clubs/groups since. A piece of advice: don’t just rely on the built-in existence of classes to help you make friends. When you graduate you’re probably going to move somewhere else. Flex those friend-making muscles now while you’re still in school and it will pay off in the long run.

Stay open to new experiences and meeting new people. Say yes to more things! You’ve got this.

[u/Bigdawg_6767 → u/linds-ro]

where to find groups usually

[u/shayownsit]

regarding the friends that have really stuck over the years and i'm now 9 years since graduating:

my best friend: we met through the dorm, she lived across the hall from me. and we had mutual friends on our floor, we got really close especially when her roommate got a bf and was never there. another close friend, we met the same way - she lived two doors down from me in the dorm.

remaining friends were through orgs that i was SERIOUSLY involved in. someone that feels like a lil sister to me, we met thru being in the same eboard. another good friend - we met through being on the same dance team but also working together on resstaff (I was an RA, she was a CA and at the time, CA was a full time live-in dorm job as well). i met another friend bc we were both RAs (not even at the same dorm but we met at RA summer training) and were part of the same cultural group so we had a lot of mutuals.

so i guess practical advice, get really involved with some orgs - even better if you can join leadership for at least one of them. and then if you're a freshman and live in the dorms, leave your door open and say yes to things like going to the dining hall together, going out sometimes, if ppl are gonna hang in someone's rooms, things like that!

[u/acgasp]

I was in the marching band so I found friends there.

[u/myaihwa]

During my freshman year my best/childhood friend roomed with this girl who also enjoyed dance like I did. Roomie told me about a mass meeting for this new recreational dance student org and we both ended up joining. I ended up becoming really close with the founding members/leaders of the group and also roomed with them at one point.

I spent several hours every week at dance practice for 4 years, tons of group members came and went, and I eventually found people I clicked with. I naturally fell into leadership roles bc I was close to the leaders. Also at that time there were a lot of “politics”/drama involved with some of the dance groups so we bonded through that LMAO. I didn’t end up staying close to my friend’s freshman roomie lol but still very thankful for her. But ~8 years later and I’m still close with those few members I connected with!

[u/Dramatic_Marketing73]

Study abroad roommates!