Hey buddy. Got friends? Of course you do. But it’s time to push the boat out. There’s a whole world out there and it’s time you met some folks that share hobbies with you.
Now, if the idea of meeting new people makes you want to dive over a waterfall in a barrel, you may have the following thoughts at your first society social. And that’s okay. We’re here to talk you through them.
“I’m here, now how do I infiltrate this group?”
The first art you need to master is that of breaking into the tightly knit circle. You’ve done the right thing in ensuring you’re not the first to arrive at the pub, but now there’s no chairs spare. You’ve gotta grab one from the next table over, but now who do you put it next to?
The guy who invited you at the Societies Fair in the first place is deep in conversation with the rest of the exec committee, so that’s out. That just leaves the one option – make new friends.
“Lemme just play it cool for a while”
You want to let everyone know that this, this society will be your home now. You’ve given away just enough during the icebreaker to keep everybody interested and now people are asking you follow-up questions. God bless ‘Two Truths and A Lie’. You just want to nerd out but you show incredible restraint and then, disaster strikes.
“PizzapizzapizzapizzapizzapizzapizzapizzaPIZZA”
You can’t fight it, you can’t resist it, so don’t try. You haven’t anything proper to eat since your mum’s last care package drop. And this is good pizza too – y’know Domino’s, Pizza Hut – stuff that you can’t afford. Hell, most people came for the free food, so who are you to turn down a slice or 6?
“That sounded a lot funnier in my head”
Your first garbage joke, your first excruciating pun, your first auspicious celebrity impression marks the point in the night where all pretence of being cool has been completely abandoned. Listen, not everyone laughs out loud. Stop worrying and enjoy yourself!
“Wow, I can’t believe what a d*ck you are”
Every story needs a pantomime villain. In this case it’s that one girl who keeps stealing all your good points at Literature Society or that guy that gets up to do Wonderwall every single week at Live Music Society’s open mic nights.
It’s perfectly healthy to have that one person in the group that you secretly hate from afar, we’ve all done it. Just don’t let that hate consume you, Anakin.
“I’ll have one more then I’ll go home”
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that it was possible to go to the pub for a couple cheeky bevs and then go home. This is among the most frequent lies people have ever told themselves and it’s no different here.
Easy now, that’s your third Snakebite and you’ve got a 9am tomorrow. Best just head home, eh?
“OMG BEST NITE EVA”
*sigh* You didn’t go home, did you? Of course you didn’t. Someone suggested you head to the club and now here you are, a VK in each hand, wowing everybody with your ability to recite the lyrics to ‘The Next Episode’. By the time ‘Mr. Brightside’ comes on, you’ll have made new friends for life.
“I think I’m gonna like it here”
Society socials are all about making new friends that share your mutual interests. That’s the beautiful thing about them. So if you haven’t quite found your place at university yet, a society is the best place to look. So when you’re in that taxi back at 3am, relish that moment. Look around at your newfound pals and think, ‘These are my kind of people. I belong here.’
