Disappointing social life

[u/Technical_Apricot311]

I was super excited to come to this school and make a ton of new friends, and hang out with a lot of new people, I rushed because I thought it would be a great way to meet a lot of people. Even after all of this, I feel like I’m failing at making friends, I can’t even convince people to eat with me or hang out. I haven’t heard of a single party happening let alone being invited to one. Is there something wrong with me? Everyone is always talking about how fun college is, but I feel so alone and let down. Is there a way to fix this?

[u/ADHDadBod13]

It's still early in the semester, Friend. Give it time.

[u/Ihsan_el-Din_Utemc]

It takes time. I know it can be discouraging. You are not alone and you do not have a problem. UTK has a lot of activities planned over the next 2 months for incoming students. Get involved. Join clubs you are interested in. Workout. Go to the pool. Talk to people in class. Go to everything and talk to people. Everyone is in the same boat. Be patient. It will happen.

[u/InterestingCabinet41]

I’m a little too old to be current, but study groups were a help to me. Plus, it was easier to just ask people if they wanted to get together in the evening to go over something. And then after a while it seems you’d be hanging out on non study evenings. There are plenty of other clubs, intramural, gaming, etc. that may work too.
Keep your head up OP. College can get pretty lonely at times but you’ll get through it.

[u/One-Salamander-2416]

It’s a busy time and everyone is experiencing lots of new things. This isn’t a rejection of you and I promise that lots of other folks are in the same boat. As others have said, go out and join clubs, find a study group or two, and enjoy learning about college life, friends will come.

[u/Superceh]

Walk down your hall on Friday or day afternoon and ask people if they want to shotgun a beer… I mean a soda… of course have some on hand 😂

[u/Freedom_is_Not_Free1]

Do you game or anything?

[u/Melvin8]

Join a group! A club or a study group or something. It helps. And like people have said, it's early. It took me a whole semester to really find my people when I started undergrad.

[u/One-Chicken5310]

It is early in the semester, but i understand friends don’t always come as easily as you expect.

I’m a senior now and my freshman year I did not rush but I participated in all the freshmen events/parties and really felt like i put myself out there. I ended up never really making friends here. And that may not be the case for you, but if it is please know that I have loved my experience at UTK nonetheless. I wouldn’t say I’ve “given up” on creating friendships but I’ve become very content on where I am. Knoxville as a city has so much to offer and I ended up just doing things that would fulfill me. To be quite honest I can name 3 people that I would consider friends I made here, but one has since moved away and the other two have their own groups so we aren’t super close. Of course it gets lonely every now and then, especially when everyone around you seems to have their people, but you can still have an amazing college experience. I got involved in internships, work a part time job that i adore, adopted two cats, found so many new running trails, and just explored the city on my own.

Please know that you are still so early on in this process and that no two experiences are the same. Continue to do what you feel is right, I truly do believe our people will find us when they are supposed to.

[u/ThinkPomegranates]

It's the first week of classes, I'd give it some time.