Moving away from friends or friends moving away from you can be tough. You may have known them for most of your life so living without them is almost unimaginable. 

 

The good news is, making new friends is easy, especially friends who share your interests. It’s a great way to learn more about yourself and build self-esteem too. Here are a few things you could try:

 

• Join a club or society at school or outside of school. Or if there isn’t one that you are interested in, create one! 

 

• Join a sports team, or band, or singing group. Having to do things as a team is great for making friends as well as building self-esteem and team skills!

 

• Start talking! Be friendly, open and interested. Ask people questions; most people like talking about themselves and it’s a great way to get to know someone! Give people the time of day. Everyone’s in the same boat at some point in their lives and most people want to talk to someone new. 

 

If you’re old enough, get a Saturday job, or go and help out somewhere that interests you, like a local farm or riding school.

 

Whatever you do, sometimes all it takes to begin a great friendship is a conversation. Be yourself, and don’t be shy.