Fancy Some New Friends? How to Widen Your Social Circle

Ah your twenties, aren’t they great? You feel wild, free and full of possibility…eh until you hit twenty-five at least. Then it’s all downhill…

Yes, your mid-twenties can be scary. Actually, they can be pretty horrific if we’re being perfectly honest. Once you hit the big 2-5, things start to change. Rapidly. In fact, you’ve probably experienced some of these crazy changes already.

First and foremost, your focus shifts from college to work. You have to start worrying about money. You start yearning for your life to become more ‘settled.’ Your friends start getting serious with the men in their lives – they move in together, they get engaged, some brave ones get married and others begin sporting baby bumps.

This can spell disaster for friendships. Especially if you’re not as far along in your life as your friends just yet. Maybe your focus is still on having fun or maybe you’re not tied down with a house and a man right now.

The best of friendships will survive this rocky period, but sometimes people find themselves drifting away from each other. And there’s nothing wrong with that – falling away from friends is a part of life. A sucky part of life but a part of life nonetheless.

As you get older, your social circle gets smaller and smaller. Once your college days end, it can be hard to make friends. Of course there are a few places that you can meet people: work, through other friends and on the occasional night out here and there. However overall, it can be a bit…awkward approaching other women in the hopes of sparking up a Sex and the City style bond.

So how can you go about widening your social circle? How can you pick up some new friends without seeming like a creepy weirdo?

The clichéd response to these questions is the following: Join a Club. Yes, yes. We know you’ve probably heard that numerous times and you’d be absolutely mortified having to join a CLUB to make friends. It sounds so sad, right? Sad it may sound, but ladies, it is super effective.

Just hear us out, okay? You get to go and learn/do something you enjoy and you’re surrounded by like-minded women who are just as passionate about the activity as you are. If you’re a spiritual chick, why not join a yoga class? If you have a lot of pent up aggression, try kick boxing. If you’re creative why not join a creative writing class or a painting class?

The possibilities are endless, plus you’ll already have at least one thing in common with the other girls in attendance making that first awkward conversation a lot less uncomfortable than it has to be.

Get involved with a charity: Have a cause you’re passionate about? Volunteer with a charity. You’ll meet other women with the same views as yourself and you’ll get the added boost of feeling great about doing good. Just think – new friends and the good karma payoff will be epic. Win-win situation.

Start a blog or a twitter account: The internet is a big place full of people and it can be a good place to make new friends. Are you passionate about fashion? Start a blog and get in touch with other fashion bloggers. Do you love books? Tweet about your latest reads and connect with other bookworms.

The internet can be an excellent way of striking up new friendships, although we do urge you to err on the side of caution. Remember, this is the internet and people can lie about who they really are, so make sure you keep yourself safe.

Make an effort to get to know people: That quiet girl you work with? She could be an excellent laugh outside of the office. Why not take her on a potential-friend-date? Buy her a coffee, have a chat and see if you have anything in common. She could be your new BFF.

Be open to the people around you, whether they’re a friend of a friend or a work colleague or even the daughter of your Mam’s best friend. Friends are hidden everywhere and you never know when you might hit the friendship jackpot.

It can be hard to make friends from your mid-twenties onwards, but all it really requires is a little graft and a little creative thinking for you to go from no social life to social butterfly.