Coping with loneliness?
Hello, I'm saw this community on the front page and thought I would ask for some advice, if that is alright.
I'm 18 and just finishing my first semester of college in a few weeks. (yay!) I'm very thankful that I get to even go to college, but at the same time I hate it. I realize I'm very lonely.
Most of my friends from high school moved out of town or state for college and we don't much talk to each other anymore because we're all so busy, and they have new friends there. The ones that did stay I still hardly see because they have boyfriends or girlfriends and any free time they do have, they spend with them and I like to respect that.
I love my family, but they have more important things to worry about than my problems. My sister is beginning a new class that is very prestigious and requires a lot of work, my dad is starting his own business, my stepmom is dealing with a recurring sickness, my grandmother is fretting about selling her house and moving, my mom and stepdad are very busy with their jobs, and always have been... I just can't think of anyone I feel comfortable talking to.
Aside from that, I've always been very solitary and independent, and so it kind of weirds people out when I start getting very open about myself. I'm not sure how to handle it and neither are they, haha. I'm typically listening to others and helping them out, so its a bit strange for it to be the other way around.
I'd love to make new friends, but I have difficulty doing even that. Not only am I super quiet (not shy, just so very quiet. It's hard to hear me.), but I don't really "fit in" with any group. Not at church, at the stables, in the art club, in anime/manga club, the friends I've met at college, nada. I'm surprised I had the friends I did during high school because we were just so different!
So, I don't have many friends and I don't really have anyone to talk to. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some tips to cope with this loneliness? I know it won't last forever, I will meet new people each semester and make new friends, but how can I keep from going off the deep end at this point?
I'm 18 and just finishing my first semester of college in a few weeks. (yay!) I'm very thankful that I get to even go to college, but at the same time I hate it. I realize I'm very lonely.
Most of my friends from high school moved out of town or state for college and we don't much talk to each other anymore because we're all so busy, and they have new friends there. The ones that did stay I still hardly see because they have boyfriends or girlfriends and any free time they do have, they spend with them and I like to respect that.
I love my family, but they have more important things to worry about than my problems. My sister is beginning a new class that is very prestigious and requires a lot of work, my dad is starting his own business, my stepmom is dealing with a recurring sickness, my grandmother is fretting about selling her house and moving, my mom and stepdad are very busy with their jobs, and always have been... I just can't think of anyone I feel comfortable talking to.
Aside from that, I've always been very solitary and independent, and so it kind of weirds people out when I start getting very open about myself. I'm not sure how to handle it and neither are they, haha. I'm typically listening to others and helping them out, so its a bit strange for it to be the other way around.
I'd love to make new friends, but I have difficulty doing even that. Not only am I super quiet (not shy, just so very quiet. It's hard to hear me.), but I don't really "fit in" with any group. Not at church, at the stables, in the art club, in anime/manga club, the friends I've met at college, nada. I'm surprised I had the friends I did during high school because we were just so different!
So, I don't have many friends and I don't really have anyone to talk to. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some tips to cope with this loneliness? I know it won't last forever, I will meet new people each semester and make new friends, but how can I keep from going off the deep end at this point?