Are “the best years of your life” in college, making you miserable?

3 Easy Tips To Help You Make The Most of Your College Years.

College is supposed to be this amazing time in a person’s life. Young adults get their first real taste of freedom as college freshmen. It’s terrifying and exciting all at once. You’ve heard all the stories about how people find their best friends in college. During the week, with only three or four hours of classes to actually attend, friends meet up at various study halls or out on the mall on pretty days to study or throw a football. On weekends there are football games and dances and frat parties to attend. It’s like one big, awesome summer camp for 18 to 21 year olds.

Except what if it isn’t that great? What if you aren’t making great friends. What if your roommate is a jerk and plays terrible music day and night. What if you don’t even like football? Meanwhile, all around you, everyone else seems to be living it up. You feel alone and cheated out of some great promise of joy and happiness.

So what should you do? Don’t give up hope. Sometimes it takes a little work to figure out where you fit in. Look around at the people you do know, even if only casually. Everyone isn’t into football and partying. What do they do for fun? The quiet girl down the hall might be on the equestrian team or maybe she is part of a volunteer group that you might like. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. People love to give advice even if they don’t have a clue who you are.

1. Go try new things. Most campuses have a ton of different groups and activities you can get involved in. Check them out. Keep going back to the ones that really speak to you. It can take people a while to get used to your face and begin to include you in conversation so be patient. You could also ask the leaders in a group if there is anything you can do to help out.

2. Say hello to people in class. Ask them what they thought about the homework or the big project coming up. Making small talk isn’t always the easiest thing to do but its a start. You might be surprised to hear that people often see someone who is shy as being stuck up or cold when in reality they are just quiet types.

3. Sometimes it helps to get some outside support. Go to your campus counseling center or look for a therapist in your area. Maryland Modern Family Counseling is located on the campus of Towson University so feel free to give us a call to set up an appointment today.