SOPHOMORE ORIENTATION: How to make friends

By Zoe Vikstrom and Kacey Hsu,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

Most freshmen enter high school hoping to stick with their friend groups, but some look forward to meeting new people and making new friends.

Junior Whitney Sacramento tries to make a good first impression.

“If you want to make friends in high school, you should be outgoing and friendly. Try to be the first one to say ‘hi’ to someone, and chances are, you guys will be fast friends,” Sacramento said.

One easy way to meet new people is through shared classes. Junior Noah Riffle made friends through the stagecraft class, which he took as a sophomore.

“I have met a whole new variety of people. New people who I didn’t know before, and some old friends who I have talked to more this year,” Riffle said.

Being an unlicensed driver as a sophomore, Junior Maya Knighton usually hung out with her friends on campus during lunch and went off campus once a week on the Sophomore Walk.

“It was helpful to know the layout of the school and to know where the main places for people to hang out during lunch were,” Knighton said.

Knighton also made friends with other people who went on the Walk weekly.

“My friends and I would always see other groups of people on the Walk at the same time every week and eventually we just started talking,” Knighton added.

Outside of class, many students are involved with DHS sports–another good way to build friendships.

Junior Makenna Rubinstein has played soccer for DHS since her freshman year and has formed close friendships with teammates that she will miss when she graduates.

“It’s really cool since there were four different grade levels on the team so I became friends with people I normally wouldn’t know, because we’re all in different grades,” Rubinstein said.

If you are the kind of person with an interesting talent, another option to meet people is through clubs.

Junior Garrison Koeberer created a club himself. Through this experience, Koeberer says he “met new people who had similar interests” and was able to find new friendships.

World Civilizations, US History and Psychology teacher Kelly Christiansen agrees that clubs are one of the best places to make friends.

At the start of each year, there is a fair on campus to showcase the different clubs and attract members.

“Even if there isn’t a club you’re particularly interested in, you always have the option to create your own. That way it means people would come to your club because they share the same interests as you, and that is a wonderful way to make friends,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen says it is important as an incoming sophomore to find a group that you can stick with, which will make your high school experience easier and more enjoyable.