<p>I accidentally posted this on like, the main CC page. Re-posting here:</p>
<p>Hi.</p>
<p>I'm not very sociable. This isn't because I don't want to be, but because I don't…know…how.
It’s been like this for as long as I can remember. I've weaved in and out of social groups over the years, especially after high school. Any friendships I did make were vague or ended quickly. Depression def. contributed to this. When people wanted to hang out, I said I was busy, or said I’d go but… I never followed through and just sort…stayed home. (I’m that one friend who always disappears.) That’s my fault, I know. But I was still so confused about things. I felt that there was more to this than just being depressed.</p>
<p>It turns out I have a nonverbal learning disorder, which explains some of my social difficulties I face (and poor work performance…been fired many times). Finding out about this, and reading up on this disorder…my depression skyrocketed. I feel hopeless. The future looks bleak. My self-esteem is pretty much gone. So it’s no wonder I’m still having such a hard time making friends and “putting myself out there”. Also, who would want to be friends with such a miserable person?
My main point/question--</p>
<p>I graduated from high school 6 years ago. I'd been going to COD on and off over the past several years. Anxiety, depression, working here and there, being unsure of my major/constantly switching majors were some pretty big factors. (I still don’t know what I want to do.) But I quickly realized that in order to get a job that pays more than minimum wage, I’d need to get a degree. So I finished the transfer requirements for LAS in May, picked Communication as my major (pretty much everything else required some form of math), applied and got in. I'm going to be starting as a sophomore in the spring 2015 semester. A sophomore. I'm 24 years old. I applied for on-campus university housing...</p>
<p>I know I am old. But my theory was that if I lived in a dorm, I would essentially be forced to interact with others. I’d have a roommate. And we’d live next to other students…I’d end up meeting people no matter what. Being confronted with and having to deal with such a different environment would no doubt improve my social skills, since, for the past few years, I was pretty much a recluse…</p>
<p>So I filled and signed the housing contract. I picked Hopkins as my first choice, because that is where the “transfer cluster” is. Plus, I thought that if I mentioned that I wanted to be placed with someone within my age range, they’d try to accommodate my request. Immediately after submitting my housing application, however, I found some posts here on CC…and read that the average age of a transfer student here is MUCH younger than mine.</p>
<p>I called housing, and they said that because I already signed the contract, cancelling now would result in a huge penalty…around two thousand bucks. So...yeah. Can’t do that. They said I could email them with my new location preferences. This needs to be done ASAP. Like, yesterday. Otherwise, they will go by my original application.</p>
<p>I read that Sherman and Daniels houses upperclassmen and graduate students, and I'm thinking I’ll be more comfortable there. But see, that’s the problem. Will this enable my loner tendencies? Because…I don’t want that.</p>
<p>I have two goals: 1.) I really, really want to make friends--meaningful, long-lasting ones. I've heard so much about this school; my sister went here, and she said it was the best four years of her life and 2.) I want to discover just what it is that I'd like to do with my life. Career-wise. This is really, really long...</p>
<p>My original housing application:
1. Hopkins – transfer cluster
2. ISR – was told there would be like-minded students here, some older
3. Busey-Evans – quiet?
4. LAR – quiet but with members of the opposite sex
5. Ikenberry South – “double”. That is seriously all it said. And finally
6. ….UGH, Allen</p>
<p>Aaarhghghaljf;. My sister reminded me that it doesn't really matter where you dorm, because there are a **** ton of activities at this campus. Clubs. Events. So now I really don’t know what to do. Should I email them my preferences? Or do nothing?</p>