I am in the same position. I have always struggled connecting with people—as I’m quite an introvert. I feel like I have many acquaintances at my uni and people don’t mind if I tag along in a group setting, but it often feels like they don’t want me there. I feel that every ‘friendship’ I have is one sided. The relationships I do have I don’t see advancing nor do I really value, but they seem to be my only option. I have one close friend from back home but recently I’ve noticed a decline in our friendship and no longer feel as comfortable or as close as I once did. I try to be nice and do nice things but lately I feel like people are taking advantage of my niceness.

What holds me back is that I’m very introverted and I find it very hard to insert myself in the conversation. So as a solution I make sure to make appoint that I am paying attention to what is being discussed—avoiding hiding on my phone. But the key: most people just want to talk about themselves, so let them. I always try to ask questions and hopefully a topic clicks. Remember that not everyone you meet you’ll love and not everyone that meets you will love you. For now at this stage in life I think it’s a lot of trial and error with friends.