<p>When I go off to college in a year I want to leave all my bad traits behind and present the best side of myself. Like, I'm really shy so I want to just start over and be outgoing. I'm sure others felt the same way as I do before they started college, but is it really as easy as it sounds? Or did you go off to college and end up staying the person you always were?</p>
<p>I stayed the same person until completely took control of my own life (which doesn’t happen in college for most people).</p>
<p>I think you could definitely change that part of you(your shyness vs. outgoingness). I went into freshman year last year with the same thoughts. I was pretty shy in high school and wanted to shake that trait of mine and become more outgoing. I think I succeeded.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it’s going to be easy but you can do it. One of the key things for me was that the second I got on campus, I made sure that I introduced myself to everybody on my hall and a lot of my classmates. DON’T WAIT to introduce yourself to the other guys/girls on your hall. You may only have a 1 or 2 week window where everybody will be extra willing to make new friends and meet new people. After that, groups start to be formed and people tend to close themselves off. Don’t miss that window.</p>
<p>Also, I’d suggest going through the rush/recruitment process(if your school has one) and look at joining a sorority/fraternity. Even if you have no intentions of pledging, go to the parties/functions and meet new people. Worst case scenario, you decide it’s not for you and move on to something else.
Same things can be said for clubs and other things. Joining a club or an intramural sport is one of the easiest ways to meet people and make friends.</p>
<p>Again, I was shy in high school and had a fairly small core group of friends. It’s been totally different in college as I’m way more outgoing and have a lot more close friends. </p>
<p>College is anything you want it to be. If you want to be more outgoing, it’s the place to do it. Not saying it will be easy, but it can most certainly be done.</p>
<p>No, most people try to re-invent themselves, but nearly everyone quits after 2 weeks</p>
<p>You can try, but it’s not easy to change your personality just like that. Especially if you are already comfortable with the kind of person you are.</p>
<p>Try it for the first few weeks, if you feel like your not yourself, it’s a sign that you shouldn’t force yourself to be someone else, just be yourself. Shyness isn’t something to be horrified by. It’s normal. I’m shy too, but just try to go out on events, say Hi to strangers and smile!</p>
<p>No, you just become someone else. You’re unoriginal.</p>
<p>Reinventing yourself for college is sort of like trying to uphold a New Years resolution. Sure, you vow to lose weight/stop smoking/study more/etc. but by the middle of the month, you’re probably no closer to your goal than you were on January 1st. Don’t get me wrong, some people uphold their resolutions and reinvent themselves, but it takes time, patience, and dedication. </p>
<p>If you’re truly dedicated to becoming more outgoing, then by all means go for it. But (and I’m not trying to be mean) don’t embarrass yourself. By this, I mean don’t go to parties and sit in a corner by yourself because you’re too shy to interact with people. </p>
<p>If your plans to become more outgoing fall through though, then maybe you should shift your focus to being more comfortable with who you are.</p>
<p>Yea that does make sense, the new year’s thing. I mean I’m not severely shy, but I feel at least in high school as a teenage girl, there are some insecurities I’d rather leave behind when I go off to college.</p>
<p>I’m like you too, in HS I had only a few close friends and I want to change that in college too. I know it won’t be easy, it’ll be tempting to fall back to being reserved because that’s what I’ve been comfortable with but I don’t want to stay like that.
I just came back from orientation. Even though quite a few people from my HS are going to the same college as me, I purposely picked an orientation date that my friends aren’t going to. When I got there I didn’t know anyone so I sucked it up and just started talking to random people and met some cool people. Good thing I did or else I would have been bored to death. I’ll see how things work out. Good luck to everyone who wants to change too! :)</p>
<p>it depends kind of on what the new environment will be like at college. (whether it’s more suitable to your personality or not).</p>
<p>you can be whoever you want even outside of college, as long as you really want.</p>
<p>You can attempt to be whoever or whatever you want, however it’s up to everyone else to recognize you to be as you claim to be.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with CUinDV. Same position…I was a lot more shy in high school. A couple good friends but not really a group. Went to college, was as outgoing as I could possibly be (not changing any of my other personality characteristics), introduced myself to people and went out of my way to be friendly, and I ended up with an awesome group of friends (almost effortlessly). </p>
<p>You can’t change yourself, persay, but you can adjust your personality to your surroundings. Certain circumstances can bring out certain characteristics in you that were there all along, just waiting for you to unleash their potential. I still am the same person (a big nerd, optimistic, incredibly impatient, and blunt) but am also now a lot more outgoing and amicable with people so that instead of just being too shy to let anyone know me, I share my outlook with everyone and let them make the decision whether I am worth friending or not.</p>
<p>I’m gonna be a Free Mason</p>
<p>I claim King Henry VIII and everyone must refer to and treat me as such.</p>
<p>I was pretty shy before entering college. Now I’m about to enter my senior year in college and I can safely say that I’ve become a lot more outgoing. I got involved in a ton of EC’s and met great people. So yeah, it’s definitely possible to change.</p>