Perpetual Avoidance: The Curse of Living Without a Life
– © 2004 John H. Driggs, LICSW

Recently a college student wrote a letter to an advice columnist in a local newspaper:

Dear Advisor:
I started college a month ago, and I haven't made any friends. I have a roommate, but she has friends from her old school and doesn't seem to want to make new friends. All of the people on my floor seem to have their own groups already, and I don't think I can fit in with them. I think this is a problem for me, because I am very shy, and people see me differently because of it. I just can't seem to get over my shyness, and it is affecting my whole life.

I need some advice on how to make some new friends, because I don't think I can go through school without them.
–Friendless–