{"id":36,"date":"2025-09-09T13:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T13:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/?p=36"},"modified":"2025-09-09T13:26:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T13:26:01","slug":"meeting-new-people-what-to-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/2025\/09\/09\/meeting-new-people-what-to-expect\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting New People: What to Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

One of my biggest fears going into college was how I’d make friends. I was terrified of being out of state, thinking I wouldn’t be able to meet anyone without disturbing a group. Going to a state school, I assumed everyone was from Iowa. To be fair, the majority of my class is, but I learned that means virtually nothing.

Yes, you see high school groups transfer straight to college together without a chance to meet anyone new. The fears I had were real; don’t fool yourself about that. For a day, it felt like everyone knew everyone. Yet, here’s one thing I learned:

We’re all new to this.

No one, as an incoming freshman, has taken on college before. How cool is that? You may see people and think they have everything figured out, but I guarantee they don’t. For example, after three weeks, my roommates and I just<\/em> got a trash can. New ways of living take time. Trust the process. I did a lot during my first week on campus to meet new people, as does everyone else. Everyone has the same fear you do: “Who will I meet? Will I make new friends?”<\/p>\r\n

Here are some things I did:<\/h2>\r\n

I became friends with my roommates.\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

I have two roommates: one I’ve known since November, and the other I met on move-in day. We had no idea who the other was, yet I was determined to get to know this girl. Slowly but surely, we began to share stories from our hometowns, and soon I started to call her a friend, not just because we were roommates, but because I genuinely enjoyed talking to her. Through the start of a friendship, I began to meet her friends. She first invited me to join a game of Mario Kart, and now, through that one night, I’ve met people I’ll cherish forever.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I did things alone.<\/h3>\r\n

If you don’t like your roommate, that’s okay, too! Sometimes all you have to do is share a space and respect the room, you don’t need to be their friend (although you should try at least once). I did things alone, a LOT. I did the On Iowa! (welcome week) events alone. I went to tote bag painting alone, made friendship bracelets for one, and ate alone. Yet out of all of that, I never walked away alone. Soon enough, I was talking to the person next to me, all the way to my next stop. Do not be afraid of conversation. Even just complimenting someone can create a conversation you’ll be so glad you made. Sometimes, taking the step to do the “get-to-know-each other” activities can create amazing friendships.<\/p>\r\n

I went to class.<\/h3>\r\n

This is the best type of relationship. Meeting people in your class. If you talk at least once to the person next to you, I guarantee you have a new study buddy. If people have groups and it seems daunting to meet new people, your classes are the place where people can’t group up immediately, because this is all new. Just saying “can I sit here?” is a big stepping stone into “can we study together?” Meet the people who have the same interests as you; interests and academics can connect people together.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I explored my dorm floor.<\/h3>\r\n

On every floor of Stanley Hall, there’s a lounge area. For the first couple of days, I was terrified of it and constantly avoiding it. One day, I sat there with my notebook and book and read. After a while by myself, someone sat down across from me and we started talking rather than reading. I still talk to this person to this day, and live right next to her across the hallway. My RAs also threw an ice cream party during the first week of school. I went alone, and met people who live on the same floor, above me, and below me. Do all the events in your dorm, even if it’s scary. Stay in the communal areas, even if your dorm feels safer. Your comfort zone shouldn’t just become your room, but the floor you’ll be living on for the next nine months. Enjoy every new opportunity.<\/p>\r\n

Regardless, you will be okay. You’ll find your people in time. There’s no time limit on meeting new people, and there’s no expectation of relationships you’ll create. It could take two days, it could take two weeks to meet new people. You could meet someone and never speak to them again. And that’s okay. You are a person someone wants to know. Your value is who you are as a person, not the number of friends you have or the person you think people see. This is a time for new opportunities; grab them and find them as you grow.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Much love,
Harper<\/p>\r\n

\"Displayed<\/a>
The first night of the Mario Kart party, where I met my friends.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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One of my biggest fears going into college was how I’d make friends. I was terrified of being out of state, thinking I wouldn’t be able to meet anyone without disturbing a group. Going to a state school, I assumed everyone was from Iowa. To be fair, the majority of my class is, but I learned that means virtually nothing. Yes, you see high school groups transfer straight to college together without a chance to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/harper\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}