Tips for Freshmen - How to Make Friends

Freshman. I think almost every student who enters High School for the first time is nervous about that first day, that first month and even that first year. I remember when I first stepped into my High School for the first time as a student. I and a few others stood against a wall and took in our surroundings as the upper classmen walked passed us. They knew where everything was, seeing as how most of them have attended the school the previous year. I and the other freshmen standing against the wall was lost as to what we were supposed to do and where to go. As the minutes passed, we found out that we were suppose to go into the cafeteria to get our scheduals for the semester.

Being in a new place like that and thrown into a new situation taught me some things before I graduated. I realized that in order to have memorable moments, I needed friends. I was one of those kids (and still am) who is really shy. I hardly ever talked during my Freshman year. I just took in everything around me including the sights and conversations. I did have some classes with Seniors back then and I talked to them, which meant that eventually I became friends with a portion of them. These were the "popular kids", meaning athletes and the like. Through them I talked to a few more Seniors and became friends with them.

Here is the lesson. If you are a Freshman starting out this year, and you have Seniors or any other upper classmen in any of your classes, talk with them and you may become friends. This is very good advice. No, you don't have to go to all their parties and whatever, I never did, but they were willing to talk to me and get to know me a little bit more. Getting to know Seniors is also a good way to meet Juniors and Sophomores, which could be your potential friends as you progress through the grades. They help greatly in the scary transition from Junior High to High School. Sure, you might know some of the upper classmen from your Junior High years, namely your sixth and seventh grade years, but back then they might have stuck to their grade level group. You know how that is, they look down on anyone in a lower grade than themselves.