How important is it to make friends right away?

How important is it to make friends right away?

Some people go away to school thinking they need to have this ridiculous number of friends and need it to happen now. They will become friends with anyone that has a pulse, people that do things that they don't even want to do and when you surround yourself with people doing things you don't want to do, you ultimately end up doing those things too. It's the equivalent of sitting in a barn filled with just putrid manure. At first you're like, "aw, this really stinks", but after a while that becomes normal and you acclimate to what it is that you're surrounded by. So pace yourself. If you can find one good friend that you can connect with, that's great. If you don't find a good friend right away, you can find a lot of acquaintances. Friends are like the weather in college; they blow in, or then they blow out, but the more you do things that you love to do and surround yourself with those people, you'll naturally make friends. You just have to understand if you're patient and pace yourself, if you don't have a friend today it doesn't mean you won't have a dozen friends tomorrow.