Has anyone had bad college experiences?
I am currently a senior in a small university and ever since the end of my freshman year I have had trouble finding close friends. So ive basically been a loner the last two years and never formed a meaningful friendship. Ive gotten to a point where i have stopped trying and because I am an introvert at heart Ive just used my alone time to do things I love so it hasnt all been bad i guess. Around the same time my close friends from high school slowly stopped connecting with me when their lives became to busy or they found different friends. I made a few solid friendships with people online but they to have since slowly stopped speaking with me over the last year and a half. Ive been told im nice, kind, interesting etc but yet I cant seem to find and keep friends. Long story short these last three years have been very lonely for me. I have questioned why people dont seem to care to get to know me and this has caused me to have very low self esteem and I have developed some anxiety. These last few years have caused me to place up a "wall" to protect myself and each day its harder for me to open up and try to connect. Has anyone else gone through a period like this in their lives and did it get better?

I can relate to this in a way yes. I'm British so I'm not sure if our education system is the same. All throughout school, I was a little shy but able to talk to people. I was that "friends with everyone" kid, but I never had any really true friends that I could really trust or fitted in with really, or who I could relate to. i related to the guys more than the gals to be honest, except two other girls. I just always had the front of being a helpful, happy go lucky gal but deep down I longed for true friends.
I ended up going to sixth form (kind of like college) where I didn't know anyone else and I ended up making loads of good friends, some of which I still chat with now. I gained a lot of confidence and felt more content. I had a lot more friends in sixth form than in high school.
Now, I'm in my second year of university and I've honestly come so far- I've met people who I can truly confide in and be myself around, I've made friends who actually care about me as much as I care about them if not more, it's a great feeling.

I'm no social butterfly- I'm pretty introverted, hate parties etc and I have some days where I just stay in my apartment all day alone. Its the way I am and my friends are fine and are cool with it. Sometimes I just need time alone to recharge.

I think you just need to find the right people- it might take time, I'm 20 and I've only just found true friends who I can relate to. Trust me, one day you will find people who you can be really close with. It doesn't matter if you're introverted or not- you just have to find the right people!

if you're at university why not join a club or a society with similar interests? I've made a few good friends that way who are so much like me!
Other friends I found through friends introducing me to them, and some I met by change at the library etc.

Before starting university I was really worried that I'd make no friends, that no one would like me etc etc I had those thoughts eating at my mind and I had a few days over that summer where I'd bawl my eyes out to my mum!

It does get better and it will! I everything works out in the end! And if you need to chat to anyone, I'm happy to! :)

thanks for the comment Ryuzaki i guess it is about finding the right people. My school is also a very small university so that probably doesnt help

I'm sorry for making such a big post- i have a bad habit of rambling on too much but you're welcome!
I guess it would be difficult in a small university, my high school was tiny- there were only 30 of us in my year group so I see where you're coming from.
I promise things will improve though

its ok that the post was long haha i dont mind im just glad you cared enough to reply :) and thanks! Im sure it will improve to its just hard sometimes thanks again

my entire college experience was bad because i was and still am severely mentally ill and suicidal so i dropped out and now im drowning in student loans the end.