How to make new friends?!

I find the older you get the harder it is to make friends, especially as a lot of my friends are either in serious relationships or having kids and I am here going: I have a cat, I'm still waiting to meet the right person, I'm studying... haha! 

I often think of  this lyric from the song Dear World by Echosmith: How many souls can be crowded together And all of us feeling alone? because that's often how I feel as I am at a different life stage to my friends. I remember chatting with some friends a while ago, 2 of them married and pregnant and I was halfway through my Cert. 4 in Community Services and one of them said to me that she couldn't imagine studying and dealing with assignments and she couldn't wait to be a mum. When I was thinking that I couldn't imagine being married and pregnant as for the first time in forever I was finally feeling like I was exactly where I was meant to be. We are both the same age but in completely different stages of our lives and it's hard because I still want her friendship but it's hard to relate to what she is going through. 

I will say that because of this I am having to expand my friendship group and the definition of friendship to me is changing. Before I thought in order to be good friends with someone you had to spend a lot of time in person with them but some of my close friends are ones I haven't spent more than a few days with but we chat online most days and we live on other sides of the country from each other. I also think making friends does require and effort on both ends and if the other person isn't willing to put in effort then it's not worth pursuing.

Here are some ways that I have made new friends:

• Volunteering - I am a mod (and youth ambassador) for RO so that has helped me meet some amazing people, but I have also volunteered at the local youth centre which has helped meet some great people. I will say putting yourself out there and volunteering can be daunting but the pay off can be worth it.
• Through my studies - even though they are what I call 'seasonal friends' I've realised that these friendships can help make study bearable and it's great to use their knowledge and be able to help each other with assignments.
• Friends of friends - I've met some great people through friends and it's a great way to expand your group with some familiarity. I remember reading somewhere on a blog that a great dinner party idea is that you invite a group of friends and they each bring someone (you included) that no one else will know and you meet people you may not have crossed paths with before. You could use this idea for so many events (movies, picnics, bush walks...) and as everyone will be feeling out of place to a degree so it makes things a lot less awkward. 
• Going to events alone - go to a book signing, or listen to someone talk on a topic you are interested in or even to a sports game. You will meet people that you have something in common with (which breaks the ice) and you never know you might have more in common than you first thought and friendships will start to naturally form.
• Join a club - a lot of community centres and youth centres run a wide range of programs that you can get involved in. It might be a book club, or a fitness club or even an art therapy group. It might be hard at first but after the first couple of sessions things will get easier and friendships will start happen.

But once you have made these friends how can you keep these friendships developing and making them into something special? Here are few fun ideas you can do with them:

• Discover a new café or introduce them to your favourite - have you been wanting to check out a new café in your area? Invite them to join you! Or introduce them to your favourite place to sit and people watch.
• Play board games - board games give you something to do and helps get the conversations flowing. Board games you can play with 2 people (or a crowd) include: Coup, Codenames (you can play this with 2 people but I have only played this with a group but its a great game), Scattergories, Organ Attack (the people behind Awkward Yeti created it and the illustrations are hilarious) or just do a puzzle together. 
• Bake - I used to love baking with friends though I haven't done it in ages. Try a new recipe together, have a bake off or you can even bake to raise funds for ReachOut!
• Watch a funny show or movie together - there is something about laughter that brings people together and its great to bond over a funny tv show or movie. I highly recommend Brooklyn Nine Nine as its a show that everyone seems to like.
• Be tourist in your own town - go to the zoo or aquarium, take a tour of a local hot spot, check out those typical tourist spots that you never go to and take cheesy selfies and photos.

As always remember that friendships take work and communication is key, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and you might just meet some awesome people that will stay in your life.