How To Get A Life

It's the weekend! Where are you? Having a good time with your group of friends? Or sitting at home, watching TV with your parents week after week? Yes, not everybody can be a social butterfly but it must make you feel pretty sad, pathetic even, when your social calendar is always empty. Here's how you can get a life!

Join a club in an area that you're drawn to; this could be anything from a sports team to a steel pan orchestra. This way you can meet people who have similar interests to you and the club's activities would give you something to bond over.

If you're still in school, a good organization in the Caribbean to join is the cadets – a junior military group; along with developing your self-discipline, it gives you the opportunity to bond with your fellow recruits and officers since you have to spend a lot of time together.

New friends = more outings = a life

Community service gives you the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to your community as well as socialize with people with all kinds of backgrounds. Along with a sense of fulfilment, you get a chance to network with movers and shakers (wealthy and influential people tend to gravitate to certain charity organizations) and, besides, charity work always looks great on your resume and when you're applying for college.

Get closer to friends and acquaintances you already have. If you're too afraid to call them, chat them online; this should be less intimidating. When you get more comfortable with them, you can arrange your own outings instead of waiting for those invites. Start with group limes (translation: casual outings), perhaps on the beach or at the movies, and let your friendship grow. If you don't hit it off, don't worry, there are plenty of people out there to meet.

And finally, get out of the house! (even if by yourself) Scope out places where a lot of people in your age group hang out on a regular basis. This will only work if (a) the atmosphere is conducive to socialising, as opposed to clustering in cliques, and (b) you don't act like a wallflower.

If the idea of approaching strangers and starting a conversation terrifies you, take baby steps; at least that's better than being at a standstill.

Good luck, future social butterflies!