Making Friends

Making friends as an adult can be an incredibly hard thing to do. Today marks one month since I returned to the UK from my travels abroad, and I find myself back in my hometown with very few options when it comes to a social life. I can’t help but feel a bit like a loser, even though I know there’s nothing wrong with me.

There just aren’t that many options out there for an adult if you don’t already have a base of friends to meet new people. This probably is especially exacerbated if you live in a small town where there isn’t much going on. I stayed true to my word and have carried home with me many of the things I learned by moving to Nepal. I have been making more effort to contact acquaintances and meet up… but I was not surprised to find that most of the people who I would even have any interest in seeing back home moved away years ago. And who could blame them? I’m going to be doing the exact same thing as soon as possible.

So the only option for me is to meet entirely new people. But again, this isn’t easy as an adult either. Common advice is “join a club.” What these clubs are that people are talking about I don’t know. Where do people find these clubs? I haven’t heard of a ‘club’ since I was at university (where, admittedly, the societies were a great tool). Once you’re thrust out into the big bad world on your own, there are no ‘clubs’. Other than meeting people through your friends, you’re expected to buddy up with your work colleagues. Difficult option for me as I am currently seeking employment.

It gets kind of frustrating, and it makes me feel pretty restless. I feel like I am waiting for something more, but I also know that I’m probably going to have to accept it being like this until I move to a new city. Sorry I don’t have any solutions here, and I hope it’s okay if I have a little whine. If nothing else, the situations I have been – and am going to – put myself through on the quest for connection are going to lead to some comedy gold for when I get down to writing my new set.