College is a time when many of us fly the coop and, oftentimes, settle in a totally different city, away from parents and long-time friends.

Even for the biggest social butterflies, there is always going to be some slight apprehension when faced with the prospect of making a completely new set of buddies, leaving the comfort zone of the high school social circle.

Typically, the transition for most students is from a smaller high school to an often much larger college. This leaves an opportunity to meet people, but don’t rely solely on “mass-friending” people in your incoming class on Facebook to start connecting with others (that leaves for the always slightly awkward meeting which is guided by a mutual search for the person who matches the default profile picture). Also, don’t rely solely on meeting new people on your floor of the dorm where you are living, either. Just because you live in the same general area, there is definitely no guarantee that you’ll share common interests or have agreeing personalities.

Here are a few ideas to get connected with other students on campus, and hopefully make some new friends: Read More »

By the time I was 14 and had started high school, I was a midwestern teenager living the life of a workaholic New Yorker. Going to school from 7-3 didn’t cut it for me. I had to be in every club and organization. Choir, drama club, key club…you name it. I had to be physically active. I had to have a social life — with 18 year olds who had cars and stayed out late. I had to be active in my church, leading youth group and attending services three times a week. And more importantly, I had to pursue my songwriting and music career, which kept me out way past bedtime at bars for shows and open mics.

I was getting by on around 4 or 5 hours a sleep a night and I was doing it without caffeine. I had straight A’s and…a lot of my friends openly hated this about me. I was a nonstop go-getter, over-achieving on minimal sleep before I even had my driver’s license. When I was 16, I launched my own handbag line and my shows became more steady. By the time I was 17, I had a serious boyfriend to throw into the mix as well as a ‘real’ job, a position running the choir, and college application stress. Yet, I was still going strong, riding on an ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead‘ slogan. Read More »