How to make new friends
How I did it: Tuesday I went to MEPS to take the ASVAB for the army, afterwards I went to a hotel for the night so I could take my physical on Wednesday. The drive to MEPS took an hour and a half and out of the nine people in the car, I was the only girl and no one talked to me. So when we got to MEPS, I was sad that I hadn't made any friends at all when my recruiter told me I was definitely going to meet people.
After the ASVAB I had to wait for my shuttle to arrive to take me and the others to the hotel. I met Jerry, Art, Matt, Brian, and Tyler - the first people who really talked to me and asked me what I was doing, if I was having fun, and just anything under the sun. Art, Matt, Brian and I went to dinner together and we hung out and talked for awhile about our lives outside the army, what we liked to do for fun.
Honestly, I am not a huge fan of girls because, well, I really love hanging around with the boys. So I didn't expect to make friends with them, and all in all, I didn't. A lot of the girls at MEPS seemed to already have their little cliques and because I didn't exist in them, I didn't belong. So making friends with the boys was a trip, but a good one.
I heard people talk about the military and that there are so many males that when a female group is stationed, suddenly there's a five to one ratio and all girls are fresh meat. While that sounds fun - seeing as how I adore being the center of attention - I hope I don't make a fool of myself or alienate people. I happen to be smart, which shouldn't be a shocker, but it was to a lot of the people at MEPS.
I ship out in July, so I can't wait to make other friends. I might see Art at basic training, but other than that, we're all going to different branches. Seriously, I met some fabulous people, it was kind of amazing.
Lessons & tips: Seriously, just put yourself out there. There were times when I was like, "They aren't like my friends, they might not get my humor." But I just threw it out there and hope it stuck, sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. So hey, you just have to try.
Resources: The army and MEPS.
