Finding Friends in the Real World
As the years have gone by, my friend group has grown smaller and smaller. I use to have a decent size of friends throughout grade schools. College, it took a while to find friends that i felt comfortable around. Then after college everyone tended to go their own way and I found myself not really hanging out with or talking to many people.
Now I admit that I am very shy around new people. It takes a while for me to warm up to hanging out with people. I also find large crowds of people I don’t know intimidating (if I know that I am going to be seeing them again, if I’m not, then I can be very outgoing).
I know people say “find things that you are passionate about and find groups of people that like it too”. Well that is easier said then done. I love traveling, blogging, fashion, beauty, photography, and animals. A lot of those don’t really have communities of people to meet up with in a designated group.
A couple of the ways to meet people that I have heard before are:
- Meetup.com: This one didn’t really work for me. I found the site a bit odd and the groups were a bit lacking in scheduling events.
- Bumble BFF: I haven’t tried this one yet. Online dating (I met my boyfriend on Tinder) is a thing so why not have an app for meeting friends (swipe right or left). Have you had good experiences with this?
- Going to community events: My library every year would have a game night for young adults which I have gone to on occasion. I meet a couple of people but nothing goes beyond casual talking. I have also tried joining young adult groups at church however those would dissolve and no friendships would come from them.
- Volunteering: I have tried this one every now and then. Of the ones that I have tried, no real friendships have come out of them.
I would love to meet people in person and be able to connect with them but I haven’t found the best way to do that in the Washington, DC area.
I feel like finding friends in the adult world is an art (and I just haven’t mastered it yet).
What are your tips on finding friends in the real world?
