How to Make Friends at a New School

If you're looking to meet people and make friends as a newcomer to your school, here are ten tips for you to put into practice:

1. Decide to Have a Healthy Self-Image

Regardless of your past or your shortcomings, a new school represents a fresh start. Take advantage of that by making an important decision at the outset. Decide to like and accept yourself.

Joel Osteen warns: "You will never rise above the image you have of yourself in your own mind." If you see yourself as a loser, that's what you will become. If you see yourself as ugly, that is how you will act - and eventually how other people will see you. If you become obsessed with your shortcomings and/or weaknesses, then others will also learn to focus on them.

Make a decision to accept yourself - and live your life accordingly!

2. Give Yourself a Positive Vision

Dream. Set some goals. And be positive about the future. Hold your head high. Be a person with vision and optimism. Don't be pessimistic about your new school or your opportunities there. Instead, decide to make the very best out of what life has given you. Have a positive outlook about your new school, the other teens in the school, and your upcoming experiences there.

Your feelings will follow your mental decisions. Don't let it be the other way around. Don't let your feelings dictate your life. You need to take charge of those feelings. Decide that you're going to make time at the new school an exciting and positive experience.

3. Smile

Learn to smile. Smile early and smile often. Make your smile one of the most distinctive characteristics about you. Others may be known for their sad dispositions and/or for their "bad luck." Not you. Be known for your smile. People like to be around others who appreciate them and who make them feel good. A smile is an important first step in becoming that kind of person - the kind that others want to be around.

4. Join Clubs or Organizations on Campus

Don't try to tackle the whole school and get to know a 'sea of faces.' You will have some initially awkward moments at school, where you have no one to sit next to at lunch or partner up with in gym class. That is to be expected - at first. You're a new fish in a large pond. If you try to befriend the "mass" of students, it will be very difficult for you.

Instead, pick 2 or 3 (or just 1 - depending on your class load or parental guidance) extracurricular activities or clubs that interest you. Then, get involved in them. If it's sports, great. If it's the chess club, great. If the debate team, great. Whatever the activities, get involved - and start making acquaintances and building friendships one person at a time.

5. Join Outside Organizations

Don't limit your social life to just school. Get involved in a local church youth group and/or the local Girl or Boy Scout troop. Make friends in the community outside the school campus, and you'll find that many of those friendships will spill back over into school.

6. Seek out the Student Government Leaders

Does your school have a student council and/or class officers? If so, seek them out. Ask if there's anything you can do to help them. They will appreciate that, especially if it's election season. If you hit it off with the student government leaders, you will tap into their social networks.

7. Be a Good Listener

Show genuine interest in others. And that starts with being a good listener. You have two ears and one mouth. That means you should listen twice as much as you speak. Put that into practice, and you'll be a long way toward making new friends.

8. Don't Forget Your Teachers

I know you're not necessarily looking to make friends with your teachers, but build a good rapport with the faculty. That will pay off in the long run. You want the faculty helping you in your adjustment to a new school, not holding you in suspicion or contempt. Be respectful and genuinely friendly with your teachers. Cooperate with them and work with them.

9. Don't be "Used"

Watch out for the "drama queens" or manipulative types who want to use you as pawns in various soap operas, love triangles, etc. Steer clear of all that. Stay above it. Just be nice and friendly to everyone. Eventually, you'll be able to size up who can be trusted and who should be kept at arm's length. It was George Washington, I believe, who once said: "Be friendly with all, but intimate with few."

10. Keep the Home Front Strong

Don't neglect your parents. Talk to them. Keep the communication lines open at home. Make sure your home is a good place to retreat to, so you can be re-equipped and refreshed. A place where you can be open and vulnerable. And don't forget your siblings (if any). Help your brothers and/or sisters out with their adjustment as well.

There you go. Ten tips for helping adjust to a new school. Good luck.