Friendship Board by UoN HealthyU

I met my best friends during my final year so don't get discouraged :)

uonhealthyu — 2026-10-20 08:04:54 UTC

say "hi!" every time you see each other. Remember that person's name & what they like. Share something about yourself too. And give it time

uonhealthyu — 2026-10-20 08:07:46 UTC

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

2026-10-20 13:25:23 UTC

I was always worried if we didn’t seem compatible initially that it would mean we couldn’t become good friends.

However, a lot of my friends at Uni are very different to me :) it’s interesting to find people who have conflicting views, beliefs and interests as you get to learn more about them - and even try things which are new to you!

It’s all a process, friendships flourish like a flower

I Still Haven't Found My People

2026-10-20 14:30:26 UTC

Don't worry if you haven't found your people yet. Some of the most beautiful friendships take time to find their way to you. You are not behind, you are not missing out and you are not hard to love. Your people are out there and one day, you'll look back and realise that the waiting was never wasted.

be a friend to make friends

2026-10-20 14:32:52 UTC

be the person to invite others! initiate plans and make time for people instead of waiting for someone to invite you, be the friend you want to have :)

Nottingham Campus Connect App

2026-10-20 14:49:46 UTC

Never thought I would use the app to actually meet people from Nottingham.

Being an international student, when I got the results from my application, I immediately started using the app.

Even though I was very nervous to met this girlies in real life, I met two off them separately. Turns ot they were both very nice and now we still hangout, go to yoga together and just enjoy each other's presences even though we are not in the same course ;)

Make connections

2026-10-20 14:55:03 UTC

Don’t be shy to get to know some of your friend’s friends, I was adopted into many friend groups and it took the pressure off meeting new people!

2026-10-20 18:35:46 UTC

Always be yourself if not you’ll surround yourself with people who you trying to portray yourself as rather than people you can connect with on a deeper level.

Friendship is about accepting yourself, too

2026-10-22 07:07:25 UTC

Earlier in life, I would always judge and compare my friendships against other peoples'. Sometimes I would feel embarrassed that I didn't have as many friends as other people or jealous of others who seemed to make friends easily. Why couldn't my experiences look like everyone else's? Why was it hard to make friends? Why was it hard to keep them?

What I found out is that it's true that comparison is the thief of joy. The more I learn to accept and love myself, the more I am able to show my friends that I love them and truly connect with other people.

For me, it wasn't about not being able to connect with others, it was about not being able to connect with myself.

In my experience, when self-love is closer, I can let other people get closer to me, too.

Go to everything your course has to offer!

2026-10-22 10:16:37 UTC

In freshers week (or refreshers week), attend every single event on offer because you never know when you'll meet you best friend. I attended a scavenger hunt for my course, despite not wanting to go and thinking it would be terrible. I ended up winning and sharing the sweets we won with a girl who is now my best friend and housemate who I would be so lost without. I never expected that to happen and almost didn't go but I am so grateful I went.

2026-10-22 16:51:15 UTC

My number one tip to make friends (for people in shared accommodation) is to get to know your flatmates.

I literally spend any free time you can hanging out in the kitchen. I do reading for my lectures there, eat my meals there, and hang about scrolling on my phone there. You're guaranteed to bump into your flatmates and over time you'll get super comfortable with eachother; every few nights we all somehow manage to end up in the kitchen together yapping away into the night!

Also you can try going out on errands with them together: mention you have something to do, and ask if they do too. My flatmates and I go on trips to lidl past 7pm to get discounts on the bakery items and it makes it a lot easier to chat with people when you're doing an activity together ❤️

waiting for something?

2026-10-24 10:07:36 UTC

My first year I've made friends while waiting outside for lectures, waiting for the bus, waiting for my name to be called in for appointments - just by asking if im at the right spot! haha. But of course, trying to initiate more conversation after that really takes courage for someone thats shy. But it often works x.

there is no beef really

2026-10-24 10:13:01 UTC

sometimes we read too much into people's body language and face expression trying to figure out if they hate us or not when its literally our first time talking with each other 😭

so dont worry about coming up to a stranger and find something in common! if not, embrace the difference!

its okay to not click the first time

stynb25 — 2026-10-24 10:26:06 UTC

you cant really assume if someone is the "type of person i would hangout with" from your first impression of them.

there are some people who just take bit more time to warm up and you'd be surprised when you realise that you've got a lot of things in common!

being the odd one out

stynb25 — 2026-10-24 10:34:54 UTC

being a minority (aka the only person) who doesnt share similar background with anyone sometimes makes me feel foreign and I remember struggling to find a sense of belonging when I first realised that there is genuinely no other person that's like me.

But then I realised.. there's no other person that's like me! maybe having a sense of belonging doesn't always mean that you fit in with the rest of the group, sometimes its when you know that theres a seat for you and it doesnt have to be in a group.

no rush!

stynb25 — 2026-10-24 10:47:55 UTC

Maybe some of the best people are destined to meet you later. Its okay to get comfortable with yourself and then find people you can be comfortable with x

It's so okay to not have friends that stick with you 24/7.

Didn't vibe with the people on my course

2026-10-25 19:46:37 UTC

I found that I didn't really vibe well with the people on my course which worried me since I would be spending a lot of time with them in lectures and stuff. However, I found it wasn't to bad not having a solid friend group in lectures as I made friends outside of the course which I could hang out with outside of lectures - which is much more important. This was through uni events, societies and work. I even made a few friends that I ended up sharing modules with even if we didn't do the same course

The "Same Time, Same Place" Strategy

2026-10-25 20:23:16 UTC

If you find the idea of walking up to strangers terrifying, you don’t have to do it. My biggest tip is to just leverage the power of routine. Find a spot in the library, a specific seat in your lecture hall, or a café on campus, and go there at the exact same time every single week.

Human beings naturally start to trust faces they see regularly. After a few weeks of seeing the same person at the Tuesday morning lecture or the library desk next to mine, breaking the ice felt completely natural. It started with a simple nod, turned into "Are you ready for this assignment?", and now we are friends. You don’t need a massive burst of confidence; you just need to be consistent.

Making Friends

2026-10-26 08:06:15 UTC

If you see someone sitting by themselves in a lecture, go and sit next to them! If you’re on the same course, you clearly already have a shared interest.

I also really recommend trying out new societies! This is a great way to find others that share your interests too. 😊

It takes time - don't lose faith!

2026-10-26 11:09:11 UTC

This is my second degree, and both times I struggled in my first year to find my people! I feel like a lot of people say "everyone's in the same boat" and make it sound like it'll be easy, but both times I was a fresher it took me until Jan/Feb of first year to really find my squad or person - don't worry if it's not happening immediately, keep putting yourself out there, make plans with people you meet, and don't forget to reach out to any home friends if you need to!

internationals event

2026-10-27 15:31:03 UTC

being an international student was scary especially coming to a country with a completely different culture from the one you are used to. I was walking around during freshers and someone approached me asking me if i knew about the internationals welcome event. I decided to check it out. I met a girl there. She’s been so welcoming to me. She invited me to her house to meet other CU people and then she invited me to her church because i mentioned to her about finding a church. Eventho we aren’t super close, im so happy to say i found someone who made a big impact on my time here.

🎓 Uni Friendship

2026-10-27 20:28:08 UTC

Say hi. Everyone’s secretly terrified. Be the brave one.

Join a society.Free friends with every membership.

Recruit a study buddy. Turn “did you understand any of that?” after a lecture into a coffee. Shared confusion is a strong bond.

Don’t panic. Your Freshers’ Week bestie might vanish by November. Your real ones are still loading. 💛

Outfits go a long way

2026-10-27 20:34:05 UTC

I'm a huge fan of something that relatively niche. Not that its uncommon to love it, but its certainly uncommon to love it as much as me and my community. For me its rollercoasters, but I know this applies to many fandoms across a range of mediums. It was winter, and I hadn't put much thought into my outfit beyond something warm, so when someone came up and complimented my hoodie, I did have to double check what I was wearing.

There is no society for what we love, but we are in a way our own little society. We're only second year, but over the summer we went on several trips covering the country, and then one abroad. Our little group has now grown, cause of people knowing people. I just wish some of the new first years spoke up a little more, I promise we dont bite!

How

2026-10-27 20:48:07 UTC

How do i make friends. Almost finished and still haven’t made any friends.

Stay Hopeful!

2026-10-27 23:03:19 UTC

Don’t feel rushed or hopeless if you haven’t found someone yet. I promise it’ll happen! Statistically the chances of you finding someone compatible with you is way higher than not finding them! Be patient. Put yourself out there — don’t be afraid to start conversations because everyone is in the same boat. People find their closest friends when they least expect it. ❤️

No social life until second year

2026-10-27 23:28:49 UTC

everyone i know now at uni would call me the bubbliest, loudest, and (hopefully) friendliest person every! however for first year i really struggled and made most of my actual or close friends the first few weeks of second year.

I never really went out, money was really tight and I had such low self esteem however I just decided to use my older brothers unhinged method of just talking to anyone that'll listen.

In the last semester of first year i knocked around other flats within the student accom i was in, I joined course group chats and I would ask other people i barely knew over social media for extra notes they made in class - make sure if you go knocking you bring a gift of snacks or wine and if you're asking for notes/comparing notes compliment the person and make sure the person you're asking has good ideas and that's why you'd like to collab.

I'm so grateful within my joint honours that one of my tutors basically forced us all to go get coffee in the first few weeks together so i could meet everyone and get to know everyone! I'd highly reccomend just reaching out to anyone you have a feeling you'd get on well with to go to a caff together - do a set piece of homework together or just if they want a chill pub night out with some ciders!

Another thing was one of my closest friends came with me to uni and we somewhat purposefully chose seperate accoms to force ourselves to make new friends but unfortunately me and my flatmates just never got on - we went out sometimes together and it was a nightmare and never got "kitchen time" together 💔 my biggest takeaway was take the iniciative to ask people to do stuff together like my list below, all stuff i did in my last semester first year and this year so far:

games night
whinge and wine night
gym day out
make dinner for eachother / whole flat
movie night
flat / course mates trip into wollaton park
meet the neighbours days
coffee days
bake days
lock in sessions in the library
JOIN A SOC AND GO TO EVENTS!!
actually participate in seminars and collab

and remember - it gets better and it gets easier!

just keep yapping

2026-10-27 23:35:19 UTC

I've made so many amazing friends by just purely forcing myself out my comfort zone and chatting to everyone in my seminar groups - don't be shy to ask for names multiple times in a lesson or social media especially if your collab work goes well afterwards

i have always been a social butterfly and struggle so much when i am on my own so if you just keep chatting and meet as many people as possible, you will find the few that truly click

after first year i was left a bit upset i didn't feel like i had close enough friendships but over the holidays and even on the last night out i went on i had so many people from my course telling me they missed me and i really held up on promises i made to stay in touch and keep talking to everyone - i got lonely during the summer holidays especially because i was at work every day - and as soon as i came back my people seemed to find me after. id been putting myself out there for so long - it really paid off and you do reap what you sow so just GET INVOLVED in your classes, JOIN societies and don't be afraid to be honest and personal with the people you know deep down are your kind of people

Go to things that might not be right for you because you never know what kind of interests and talents you harbour unless you use them and you've got a voice, use it! Don't be afraid to be the mate that makes the first step, someone has to!

feeling like an outsider

2026-10-28 01:07:45 UTC

i find it hard to find people who understand the way i am and i don't want to give them the whole sob story of why i am this way. i feel like people just don't get me and its really hard to feel like such an outsider. i never feel truly liked

put yourself out there!

2026-10-28 01:11:10 UTC

i honestly just went up to people during welcome week. people would be waiting outside the lecture hall and i went up to them and joined the group. i said hi and introduced myself and they did the same. these people are now my friends and i am so grateful that i had the courage to insert myself into a conversation

Societies!

2026-10-28 10:55:54 UTC

Go to societies - some might be bad, or unfriendly, but you just have to keep at it and keep going to society events that you like. I’ve met every one of my friends from societies, I don’t know what I’d be doing without them!

Where to look for friends

2026-10-29 09:17:17 UTC

There are three easy areas to look for friends in; your course, your accommodation and societies. On your course, hang around in common rooms and social spaces, and go to department events. Notice who you see in lectures and then go talk to them after. In your accommodation, go to events like ResX activities, hang around in shares spaces, ask if you can join people at mealtimes if you're catered, and even knock on your neighbours' doors and introduce yourself. In clubs, you already have a shared interest. Start chatting from there, and maybe ask about meeting up outside of society events. Sometimes you like a society for the activity, and sometimes for the people. You will most often grow closest to the people with the most overlap across these areas too, or ending up with separate friends in separate parts of your life isn't a bad thing either. And meet the friends of your friends, that can be a good way to find a group, and gives you more people you know.