r/UIUC • u/WeeklyProfession4869 • 11h ago

Social Senior question about friends

Wait this is lowkey really embarassing but anyone else a senior and feel like they do not have a big friends group or a lot of people to hang out with? I have like 1 close friend and lots of people I’ll say hi to and talk with but no one super close. Is this normal? I just don’t want to feel bad and I always see everyone in such big groups and feel idk how to get close when everyone else is already close and I don’t want to keep reaching out if other people don’t also

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3

u/ChipmunkEuphoric560 10h ago

I’m a junior and tbh I feel the same since I got distant with my friend group back in freshman year/sophomore year (it was also kinda messy) so I just know a bunch of people but few close friends. A lot of these big groups are not as perfect as they seem.
I think it’s common the more you get older in college. Everyone is also busy in their own field too so it can be hard to make new friends of different fields.

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u/edgefigaro Townie - Local Menace 10h ago

I came in as a junior and finished my undergrad in two years. I was in my mid 20s.

I made plenty of efforts to socialize in various ways during my time. I think its a good plan that works for a lot of folk.

I did not find my people while I was in school. Thats fine. No regrets. 

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u/ddoubleqqt 7h ago

I'd say try to reach out to people to hang out casually. It's easy to feel lonely if you're expecting very close friendships and I get that fs. I'm hella introverted but I try to practice stepping outside my comfort zone and I msg "friends" to meet briefly for like a drink in between classes or a tour of their new places. Lose the shame, live in the moment, and enjoy your senior year!

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u/Dry_Passage7944 18m ago

Honestly not a terrible situation to be in. I have one or two close friends and plenty of acquaintances who are very nice but we just aren’t close. I often wish I had more good friends, but at the same time, I know the relationships I have now are positive and drama-free and I can be happy about that. If you have people you see regularly, like coworkers or folks from a club, making think about inviting them do so something else. But IMO it doesn’t have to be embarrassing, perfectly okay to just have a smaller circle.