Not everybody was popular in high school. In fact, it seems as though there are a select few who do end up being popular in high school, and they always seem to be some of the worst people imaginable.

Once you arrive at college, however, all of that becomes irrelevant. What’s more is that — no matter what your standing in the social hierarchy of high school was — coming to college is a good time to start being more social for several reasons.

Good social skills and people skills will be very useful in the future, no matter what your plans are. Chances are you will have to interact with people on a regular basis for your job, and learning how to do that now will greatly increase your chances of success at that job.

By being more social you will more easily find someone to help you in a class if you need it, someone to hang out with on the weekend or even just someone to talk to.

In high school, I was never really that social. Then I got to college and realized hanging out with the people I already knew wasn’t going to work because I didn’t know anyone.

It was at that time I first realized I needed to work on being more social.

It wasn’t an instantaneous change. Learning new skills rarely is. But, over time, I started to put more effort into meeting new people and expanding my social network.

My biggest challenge has always been balancing work, school and a social life. In previous semesters, I’ve had a habit of putting more of an emphasis on the first two than the third, but the third is just as important.

School should take precedence — after all, we’re paying for it. Work also is important, at least if you like money. But a social life is even more important as it allows some relief from the stress the first two create.

By being social, I don’t mean going out to parties and getting smashed — although that is some people’s definition. Instead, I’m referring to meeting up with people who share similar interests as you and trying to share experiences and time together.

This isn’t as difficult to accomplish as it might sound. UND actually has a great deal of organizations for students run by students with many different focuses — some of them academic, some of them recreational and everything in between.

For example, there is a creative writing club, a hunting club, a speech team, political groups, religious groups and many more. Some of these clubs are related to specific majors, and others are just for anyone who wants to drop by.

Seriously, check out the UND Involvement and Leadership Office.

This is the best way to start being more social, as you can start with people who already have similar interests or opinions as you. Or if it is just something that sounds fun, getting involved now can help you quite a bit later.

Michael Rauser is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].