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[TD1]

But the question is what do I fill that space with?

.....

In my case it was drawing, music theory, prose writing, poetry writing, cricket, rowing, reading (obviously), constructing languages and reading up on the odd topic of interest in an academic sense.

Really, get a hobby. I've got like ten different ones going on simultaneously.

Feckin' grant feckin' Erasmus feckin' not giving me it.

To explain this, which amounts to angry stabbing at a keyboard, my Erasmus grant (which is kinda important for my continued survival) is not coming through because of a problem on their end.

Feckin' bureaucrats.

I'll get by, but not quite so comfortably, and I'll have to stop going to poetry nights.

[Solifuge]

But the question is what do I fill that space with?

We can throw suggestions out there, but no one apart from you can actually answer that question.

Take some time to get to know your Internal Compass. Think about things that you've been passionate about, or that you find interesting or engaging. Think about who you want to be or what you want to have done by the time you're old. Get to know yourself and your interests better than you do, even the ones you threw out or which are daunting to start. If you still can't think of things, go out on a limb and try some things you have no experience with. Go to places, or learn a new hobby/skill, or whatever else.

Good luck!

[TD1]

Yea, and if you don't like the whole "work on skills by yourself" thing (which is kinda what I've done thus far), then join a club. Even pay to do something, like drawing/writing class or something. Or even join a gaming club, tabletop stuff. Warhammer 40k, Chess, whatever.

[SalmonGod]

Don't know why I bother trying to take a day off from work.  I still end up paying attention to work most of the day.

[Kot]

10 days, guys. 10 days.

Fucking hell.

[TheBiggerFish]

Kot?

What's going on?

*frets worriedly*

[Kot]

Nothing.
Just in 10 days it will be precisely a year since by life went to shit.

[TheBiggerFish]

Oh...

*preemptively hugs*

[Amperzand]

So, with regard to finding something to do.

What worked for me was finding something tangentially related to my own interests and diving into it for lack of anything better to do. Having started on the path of doing something, anything with my time, I managed to continue doing stuff from there. It's hardest to start.

In my case, there was a robotics club in an adjacent town, so I started helping them build a robot weekdays.

In your case, well, I don't really know what your interests are, but find something. Something where you need to do things with your hand and brain, and interact with people to do them. If you're feeling worried about social anxiety, that's the great thing about nerdy tech/videogame/RP clubs: it's not as if most of the people there are likely to be much better.

[TheBiggerFish]

There's literally too many nerds here to have one of those clubs and have it actually not be most of the university.

[misko27]

There's literally too many nerds here to have one of those clubs and have it actually not be most of the university.

Unless this is in the tens of thousands, no, it's not.

My highschool had 4000 kids, and the vast majority were nerds of some sort. Yet the Robotics club wasn't overfilled or anything to what I could see. Clubs aren't abstract concepts you know. They are real things. And in reality, I guarantee you, you won't have any sort of intractable "too many members" problem.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Did you ever check out the debate team?

[i2amroy]

Another alternative is to go check out nearby martial arts dojos nearby or similar stuff. They usually aren't too expensive to get started with, provide a spot to be a part of something without necessarily forcing you to seriously interact socially with other people, and provide some good exercise and knowledge to boot on top of it.

The big piece of advice I have for finding hobbies is just to actually sign up for them. Take a look online and you'll usually find at least a handful of options pretty easily, then all you have to do is actually go, and BAM! new hobby.

[TheBiggerFish]

There's literally too many nerds here to have one of those clubs and have it actually not be most of the university.

Unless this is in the tens of thousands, no, it's not.

My highschool had 4000 kids, and the vast majority were nerds of some sort. Yet the Robotics club wasn't overfilled or anything to what I could see. Clubs aren't abstract concepts you know. They are real things. And in reality, I guarantee you, you won't have any sort of intractable "too many members" problem.

*looks at the 10,000-some population*
You were saying?

I've literally been seeing ads for this massive festival sort of thing, I don't even know, but the club's definitely too big to actually make friends in.  That and I don't even own most of the games these people play.

The only robotics club they have is for ex-members of a different thing than I was in in high school, because apparently that doesn't continue up to university level.

Did you ever check out the debate team?

I haven't seen one.

Another alternative is to go check out nearby martial arts dojos nearby or similar stuff. They usually aren't too expensive to get started with, provide a spot to be a part of something without necessarily forcing you to seriously interact socially with other people, and provide some good exercise and knowledge to boot on top of it.

The big piece of advice I have for finding hobbies is just to actually sign up for them. Take a look online and you'll usually find at least a handful of options pretty easily, then all you have to do is actually go, and BAM! new hobby.

I have no transportation.  So that's out.

You know, I signed up for something at the beginning of the year and haven't heard back.  *sigh*

[i2amroy]

I have no transportation.  So that's out.

You know, I signed up for something at the beginning of the year and haven't heard back.  *sigh*

Do you have a bike (or a little bit of money to pick up a cheap one, or a relative who has one they don't need)? Bike + bus can usually get you most places in most cities as long as you are willing to take a little extra time to get from place to place, and it really opens up options once you are able to move around a little bit more.