no friends..

LegacyUser

I know there's been a lot of threads like this but I need help. Basically I want to make new friends. but I'm 17 and on a year out from college (hated my course) so am in a bit of a social limbo. People my age seem to either be in college or 6th year and I'm in neither. I need to meet people my own age but I don't know where. I do sports casually but don't know how to kind of progress friendships there. my old friends from school have moved on so I need to meet new people. I'm really down about it at the moment and feel totally alone

DazMarz

It's amazing how friends move around in your life; you have friends as a kid, friends as a teen, friends in college and then friends in 'life'... Times shift and people shift, and friends can stay in your life, drop out of your life or you just grow a bit more distant. It happens all too often.

The best and simplest place to start is mutual interests; a lot of my mates nowadays I've met or grown closer to through mutual interests. Anything that you're into (be it a specific football team, a specific musical genre, being film buffs, etc.) try and meet people with similar interests. It will give you a lot of stuff to talk about, make meeting up a lot easier, allow you to go to events and go out together (to matches, gigs, etc.). Try and find an outlet that will encourage social interaction; card schools, football teams, darts teams in the local pub, anything like that.

Also, I'm sure you have friends! Try and meet up with them more often, try and meet more people through your friends. It's amazing how 'Friends of a friend' can quickly become your own friends and can be some amazing people to have in your life. While I'm not going to encourage underage drinking or anything (as you're only 17), but these days sessions can be a good way to have a bit of a laugh and to meet some people. Anyone you meet, get on with and so on. Don't be afraid to swap phone numbers casually, add each other as friends on Facebook, etc. Or even if there is a local youth club in the area, that's another possibility to meet people your own age.

If you're going back to college in a year's time, this will also help in kick-starting a social life again (college is a great place to meet some amazing people).

If you are centred near an urban area, it will probably be easier to make new contacts and meet new people.

Hope some of this has helped! Good luck, man!:)

LegacyUser

damn dude 17 is lucky, here just like if you live in an estate and you see kids hanging around just walk up to them and just start mixing with them...kick a ball at them and run to get it and start playin with them, they might be hostile at first but after a while u might start hanging out with them.

i used to be in same position had no friends seriously absolutely no hang out friends until i decided that enough was enough nd went out nd just start hanging with people in my estate

chicken fingers

tuuuubes wrote: »

damn dude 17 is lucky, here just like if you live in an estate and you see kids hanging around just walk up to them and just start mixing with them...

This REALLY depends on what estate we are talking about.

tuuuubes

tuuuubes wrote: »

if you live in an estate and you see kids hanging around just walk up to them and just start mixing with them...kick a ball at them and run to get it and start playin with them

Honestly, I don't think that works in real life.


Anyway, as someone in a fairly samey situation as the OP (except I'm 22 and lost touch of most of my friends years ago and still don't really have any), my suggestion would have to be courses of some kind.

I did a few FAS courses over the last year and had a great time on them with the people there. Everyone's in the same boat and everyone's having a bit of a laugh together.

I realise you're 17 so I don't know how eligible you are for FAS courses (and some of those 'Community Training' things are just filled with scumbags who won't go to school, so be wary of those!) but try to find a FAS equivalent I suppose.

It's not nice having no one around, and unless you're consistent, it'll be hard to keep friends. For example, I met great people and had a great laugh with pretty much everyone I met on FAS courses and a Back to Education course last year. Only one of those people would still be a person I'd see regularly, but even that that, aside from my brother and dad, I haven't spoken to another person in about three weeks.

Not a lot of fun.

So my advice is to be consistent and take your hobbies public. As said above, jpin a club or such if you can. I sort of made a friend last year in my local gym. I say "sort of" because we got on great and talked a bit in the gym, though we never intentionally met out side of it.


Anyway... best of luck OP.

LegacyUser

Hi OP here thanks a million for all replies. I'm going to try go to some classes I'm interested in and hopefully meet people there and I'm doing a FETAC course in February so hopefully that will help! I don't know if I could really just walk up to people in my estate but thanks for the suggestion. I've tried reconnecting with old friends but it's hard and they've generally moved on but I'm hanging out with one next week, it's a once in a while kind of thing but better than nothing. the only thing now is to wait and see I guess, I wish some classes and stuff were on during the day, most are evening but I'll just have to try stay occupied in the day. thanks everyone again