In my college experience so far, I've noticed dramatic changes in myself. As a freshman, I was very shy and afraid to meet new people. Now as a soon-to-be junior, I'm much more outgoing and I'm always looking forward to making new friends. However, even though I have a lot of friends, I don't belong to a certain group.
I was very surprised to see articles about this topic, including one of the most trending articles on the Odyssey as of April 2017, "I'm the Girl Without a Friend Group."
But here's the thing. I've wanted to write about this for a really long time, even before it was trending. I find that this is something I can certainly relate to today and ever since I was a little kid.
My situation was, I was in always in small schools, so I could never form a little group even if I wanted to. I made friends, but we never made a "group." But then I went to college, and everything changed. I will admit, I tried joining a few groups, but ultimately, they didn't work out.
I attempted to join these cliques so I could turn to people who I could talk to anytime. But after awhile, I realized their behavior reminded me of people I don't care for. Also, they were really annoying and couldn't take a joke. So, at that point, I had to leave and cut everyone in that little clique out of my life. This was also the case with some other cliques and groups, except they weren't quite as bad. Then, I was all by myself without a group.
But I don't care. I still have friends who love me. I know that I can talk to them about anything anytime. If I see them partying with their groups on social media, I do feel a little lonely, but I know they wouldn't forget about me. I wouldn't have become friends with them if I didn't see the good in them. They're just burning off stress and acting like wild animals.
What I've learned from all of this is you're not alone, even if you feel you are. Many people can relate to what you're going through. Even though I'm jealous of everybody partying when I'm stuck at home doing work, I'm really okay with not being in a certain clique. Sometimes, being in a clique might sound good initially, but then you find out who the members really are and you realize you shouldn't hang out with them anymore. Everyone's different, and I'm not judging if you are in a group or clique. You could be like me and have a lot of friends and not belong to a specific association. But here's what I say: If you have a lot of friends, you don't really need a group, do you?
