#ktpo

Going to a new school, college or university can be extremely difficult. I moved up from secondary school to a sixth form a year ago, and I found it hard to make friends right from day one. My school didn't have a sixth form attached, so I was forced to find somewhere new. The local sixth form wasn't nice to my brother, so I scouted out and found a new one - I was the only one from my secondary school of about 900 to go to a college of 2000.

Finding friends was difficult. I had negative moments - I sometimes thought about transferring back to where all of my old friends had gone, just so I wasn't so alone. However, it's always good to just remember that simple things can form a friendship. Compliment people, smile at them, say hello in corridors. If you're not with anyone at break and lunch, don't worry. You can catch up with work, read a book in the library or even ask people if you can sit with them.

My number one rule about sitting with people is as follows - no matter how hesitant you are, if they've said yes, sit with them. They haven't said no, they've invited you to be with them for the day. I always had a paranoia that I'd never be accepted because the whole group hadn't said yes, which often made my brain think 'Am I even good enough', which is bad, bad, bad. You're always good enough - everyone is good enough.

Quick note: Feminism isn't a bad lexeme. It isn't something to cringe at when you hear it on the street. It's a word that's been pejorated through the years because of negative press and protestors who don't fully understand the concept, which means that people are getting the wrong idea. As feminists, we need to be proud about fighting for gender equal rights (see: gender equality, the aim feminism has always fought for) and teaching young children that being a feminist isn't bad.