Meeting people is a result of going out, doing stuff, and being a decent person. It's not something you can force outside of kidnapping, which doesn't really work either.
My best piece of advice is that you're going to have to work on any relationship or friendship you develop, and you're going to have to step outside of your comfort zone and even be comfortable with prodding the edges of others' comfort zones. Don't push too far, of course. Learn peoples' boundaries. Know that friends are hard to make for us introverts and most people won't make any effort in a relationship unless they've known you for a while or really like you, and even then you'll usually have to be the one initiating hanging out or whatever because they'll be too worried about being rejected.
You, however, cannot be afraid of rejection. You must become Captain Learns-From-But-Doesn't-Get-Down-From-Rejection. A lot of dating advice applies here. People
will say no. People
will avoid you. People may even be rude to you. You can't let
any of that keep you back - Just shrug and move on. If they're not cool enough to accept you and take some risks in talking with you or letting you into their lives, then they probably wouldn't be the kind of people you'd want to hang out anyways.
A big part of making friends is
becoming a good friend. You need to working on developing your personality and lifestyle to be someone
you would want to hang out with. That means hygiene, appearance, grooming, behavior, attitude, hobbies, stuff you know enough to talk about, developing fair opinions on a variety of subjects, and even your habits. If you don't like something you do (Smoking, complaining, picking your nose) chances are the people you want to hang out with won't either. If it's something you can't control (Such as how you laugh), make it a part of your personality and don't make a big deal about it. Chances are they won't if you don't, and if they can't accept what you can't change (Within reason) then they probably wouldn't be good friends anyways.
It'll be a long process and you'll probably have a hard time since meeting folks and making friends is a long process of chance and effort, but if it's something you want and you stick through it you'll become a better person and maybe come out on top with a few close friends. Just don't expect instant results - It's a process, but one that's well worth it.
I have a few ideas on the "going out and doing stuff" front, too.
Gaming shops are a good place to start. If you're into D&D, Magic the Gathering, or any other social or competitive tabletop game there's plenty of lines out there to follow. Any gaming shop worth the name will have scheduled game nights and a board for people looking for D&D groups. You just have to push yourself out a little bit and get into contact with them. If your town lacks a gaming store, there's a lot of different places you can look for folks to game with, such as the Fear the Boot forums or Craigs List.
Bookstores and libraries are fun, too, just don't expect too many people to be comfortable with you going up to them and talking. Not a sure bet, but at least you'll fit right in while you're reading a book. Sometimes libraries have volunteer stuff you can do, such as book readings or fund raisers.
Speaking of volunteer stuff, animal shelters are another good place to find a lot of good people. You can usually volunteer at schools, too. A fringe benefit of volunteering is that you get something nice you can put on your resume.
If you're old enough to go to college it could be a good place to find friends. Just take classes you're interested in and hang out in the cafeteria, library, computer labs, or cool teachers' classrooms before, after, or between classes. If you're still in high school all these options are already open to you.
If you don't want to get involved in college there's usually a number of hobby classes you can take in most large towns, such as piano classes or guitar lessons. Only get into stuff you actually want to do, though.
Work is another great place to find good people, with the added benefit that they have no choice but to hang out with you and you're also earning money. Just don't slack off too much.
Lots of people have lots of opinions on organized religion and I don't feign to know yours, but I'll list church and religious classes for the sake of completeness and that ball's totally in your court. If you're religious at all it's an easy place to find like-minded people. Just don't go somewhere you don't agree with or don't want to go to, since you'll run into the opposite problem.
Finally, there's tons of clubs and organizations around the world. Find something you're interested in and see if there's a group that meets up to participate in that hobby. I'm thinking chess clubs, drama clubs, that sort of thing. If you live in the northwest US, I think Dwarf Fortress fans meet up every year or so.
Family is another connection you can use to make friends - Just don't expect to score too many dates at your next family reunion.
Failing all that you could always join a cult.
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Topic: How do I meet people? (Read 1822 times)