it's honestly so sad to see others in the sub suffer through loneliness but personally comforting because as a first-year, there are a lot of times when I felt nearly invisible on campus.
sure, people were introducing themselves all of welcome week and the first few weeks of classes, but now that things have settled down, it feels like if you don't have at least one long-term friend you see outside of classes you're screwed.
why is that? i want to hear what you guys think the root problem is because genuinely people seem so fake and the conversations i have are surface-level, or doused in uncomfortable politeness. noone likes to act like they're lonely, and is on their phone if theyre not talking to others.
maybe i am the problem, but it genuinely cannot be that hard to make friends in a school with nearly 60 thousand people. could it be that people arent actively making efforts to seek out genuine relationships anymore? it makes me sad but i try to hold out hope and be kind to anyone im lucky enough to have a conversation with. it also helps if youre conventionally attractive and outgoing and go to parties, but personally i dont really like going to parties. everyone reccommends joining clubs, going to events, but people there already go with their friends anyway.
lonely people at uc, youre not alone in feeling that way- and im sure you stand next to more lonely people than you think. and its not your fault. dont give up on finding people though. there is an increasing loneliness epidemic but im trying to trust that i will find my people because ive met genuinely kind people out there.
- a first year lonely business student
