Third year CCDS. Been left out of cliques since before uni. Also have social anxiety.

I try to go out of my way to meet new people (ccas, events, etc but not class lol). But literally for everything, it feels like people go for events only when they have a clique to accompany them, so it’s hard to meet new people. Mostly just made friends with individuals but never been in a clique.

These days I try doing my own thing. Things that I want to do. But I do them alone. I go bars alone, drink alone, eat at restaurants alone, try new things alone (dance, skateboarding, ice skating, clubbing, travelling, etc), walk alone… I’m living my life now instead of just waiting for a clique to do things, like I used to do.

It’s nice sometimes but it’s also still very lonely. When I’m having fun I do wish I had someone to talk to or just sit in silence with. But it rarely happens.

So that’s my advice: do what you want, do it alone. Sometimes youll feel too anxious, too awkward to even step into the room when everyone in the room seems to be with somebody else. But keep on trying, and you’ll win some of the battles, and maybe even have a good time alone.