I have a social question

[Yoko]

School and work are the best places to meet people. That's what I find anyway. I'm not a very social person myself, but I find myself always having someone to talk to when I need them most.

I met the bulk of people I know today when I was in Cadets. It's basically a reallyreally big social group that's fixated on leadership, discipline, public speaking and other grand things like that. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. I was bound to meet at least someone. That was when I was between the age of 10 and 19.

In college I take part in my program's social group. I volunteer for random things. Meet people as these fine people have said. These methods are tried, tested and true. No matter how high/low your self esteem is.

Sports were never something I actively took part in, but if you're looking for some random fun, join a local soccer team, or even a ball hockey team. They are always looking for new members. You can even go out for a bite somewhere afterwards and chat if that suits your needs. There's always something. You just need to look for it.

I'm not sure what you do during a normal day, but there's always a way to fit these types of things into your schedule.

[Heartless Angel]

School's about the best from my semi-limited experience. By and large I hate people, so I don't generally try to meet them. But almost all of my friends are people I met sometime during middle or high school, or in college. I hang out with one or two people I met at anime conventions, and I write/call/email a few more I met at conventions that don't live anywhere near me. Really anywhere where people with your interests are likely to be. For example, most of the people I meet at college that I like are people going into a similar field and therefore taking the same classes. As for initiating conversations with potential friends, I never really do. I'm just not the type to make the first move in any situation. so it's always been on the other person to engage me in conversation. A lot of conversations that turned into friendships for me started because I whipped out a Gameboy or a DS or a PSP in class. Conversation usually starts with something as simple as, "Hey, what are you playing?". The answer will either end the conversation as abruptly as it began, or lead to a conversation about a common interest. Couple of the people I hang out with I started talking to based on common musical taste, conversations there often being started based on me wearing band/concert shirts or listening to my music way too loud so that people could identify it from across the room. Friends of friends are also likely candidates for most people, I've had less success making friends that way, because I'm very picky about who I'm friends with, and common interests alone aren't usually enough for me. I generally befriend people whom I consider intelligent, another reason why I tend to befriend people I meet in classes, especially electives in the fields of science and philosophy. So I mean, to put it all into one simple sentence, go places where the kind of people you'd want as friends are likely to go. Not to say those are the only places to find friends, but the chances in those places are usually fairly high.