Academic life, especially the typical college and university years, seem to universally have a lifelong impact on students. This is especially true when the student’s place of residence is a hostel. For the period of time the student stays in a hostel, the hostel, in a way, becomes their home, and this home is being shared with fellow students. So, from one perspective, these fellow students can almost be considered their family. It is thus inevitable that some of these bonds survive the test of time. However, making friends comes easier to some people than others. Some are born with the gift of gab while some struggle to even sustain the feeling of normalcy in their interactions. Regardless, whether you’re a shy introvert or an outgoing extrovert or anything in between, this post is aimed to help you in building lifelong friendships in hostel environments.
So, how does one go about building lifelong friendships in hostels? One of the most important things to keep in mind is to be yourself. Your true authenticity is what someone else would treasure in a friendship with you. You don’t have to be someone else, and you don’t want to attract others based on that inauthenticity.
Apart from being authentic, the key to making friends is to be open and approachable. It’s not about keeping your guard down at all times, but fellow students need to feel that they are welcome in your life and as part of your circles. As a result of conditioned insecurities or just personality traits, many people, consciously or otherwise, give out vibes of being closed and unwelcoming. One must be mindful of this to get better at even initiating connections, nevermind building lifelong friends at hostels.
Sharing personal experiences is key in developing these friendships. Whether the experiences are relatable or something new to the other person, both could help strengthen the bond as long as one is good at reading the room and doesn’t make the other person feel uncomfortable beyond their preference. Sharing meals together makes a good time to communicate and exchange these experiences, or even when just hanging out in the campus or in an activity together or in any opportunity that allows for mutually-invited communication. However, it’s not just about you. You need to be a good listener yourself, and make them feel heard too.
Trust is always built upon honesty. You need to be honest as much as you can if you value both, the friend and the friendship. Only through such trust comes loyalty. Make sure you understand what they’re going through, offer support, and simply be there for them when they need someone. Often, that’s literally all you need to do to sustain a friendship.
At S’ Residences, we are known to foster a comfortable homely environment where residents, who enter as strangers, leave with friendships that would, no doubt, endure all kinds of tests of time and distance. It’s a safe space that cultivate these bonds. We facilitate activities that enhance possibilities of mutual bonding. The rest is upto you. You’re always welcome to our home and be a part of our little family of academics.