help

Didn't anyone ever tell you that to make a friend, you have to be a friend? Reach out to someone in class, perhaps form a study group for a mid-term. Find a common interest or share your thoughts with a stranger. Go out of your way to look at something from another person's point of view. We tend to be most interested in the things of our on lives. Go outside your comfort zone and take an interest in something a potential friend expresses an interest in. These are general life-skills that we all have to refine. The better you get at it, the more likely people in greek houses will respond to you (if you have the interest). There's nothing wrong about not wanting to go greek, but if you do - you're going to have to talk with people and socialize. You'll get better at making friends if you try at it. One classic book that still has relevance today is Dale Carnegie's "How to win friends and influence people".

that is incredibly inaccurate. A townie? What? Just try to make friends, don't be weird about it.

All right "Way Too" - I concede that making friends can be very hard for some people, and that the above recommendations are just a starting place. Wanna explore the complications? It has little to do with SDSU being "run by the Greeks". Very little.

It has a lot more to do with the perceived social-risk a person takes by being outgoing and friendly. The fact is, most of us are terrified of social rejection. It's rated higher on the fear index than being killed. Ever seen the stats on fear of public speaking? Fortunately all of these are "perceived" risks, and not borne out in reality whatsoever.

For my part, I was a total introvert until about half way through high school when I discovered the Drama Club. Having a set of people working on a common goal (a play), and the specific task of speaking before an audience - helped bring me out of my shell. I realized a newfound confidence. That's all it took. Read that book btw: There are major lessons in "How to win friends..." - it tells you how people look at themselves.

Railing on about how the Greek system "controls" the school is, one; not true or helpful (it tends to be outgoing people who join student government, and greek letter societies attract outgoing people - so autocorrelation already) Two - there IS something you can do about this - and it starts with yourself. Three - this is one of the most studied areas of psychology and sociology - so take a class, try to master this part of your life.

To the orginal poster - There ARE people out there, just like you, who have taken it on as a goal to make friends. And they turn out just fine. It has nothing to do with being a sophomore. Part of your education at this part of your life - is the education of how to interact and deal with humans. Your a human - you're already an expert in this subject. Be of good cheer - there's hope for you yet. Basically everyone figures it out eventually - but there are shortcuts to the understanding of people. Lesson one: Learn empathy. The art of putting yourself in someone else's shoes. It goes a long long way, and it's not just agreeing with people. It's letting people inside your "boundaries" - (That's lesson two, we'll talk about boundaries next week my friend :)

why does this keep getting bumped? Who cares!?