Student story: Students traveling alone forced to make new friends

By Gallagher Martin-Chavez/Advanced Writing

All alone, with nobody to turn to. The idea may scare many people, but three students are embracing it.  

Imagine attending the Flint Hills Publications Workshop by yourself. Nobody to eat lunch with. Nobody to gossip the details of your day. Nobody to sit with at night. The only option is to make new friends. Easier said than done.

“Getting to know people has been the biggest obstacle,” Wichita Southeast senior Ryan Lawless said. “I just stay in my room and hangout with my roommate.”

Students said a big key to surviving by themselves was meeting new friends and overcoming their fears of new people. Once they opened themselves up, they said making friends became much easier.

“I’m used to knowing people, so this has helped me get to know new people,” Lawless said.

For Blue Valley West junior Sierra Deitz the key to a good time wasn’t listening to music, or getting on Twitter. She had her own style.

“I’ve been designing flute T-shirts and sweatshirts for my marching band,” Deitz said. “I’ve also been studying for AP exams.”

Deitz was roommates with another student attending camp alone.

“I’m the only person from Gardner Edgerton, and my roommate is the only person from Blue Valley West, so we’ve been getting along fine,” sophomore Shelby Simpson said of Deitz. “We haven’t had any arguments.”

The opportunity to be by themselves has been beneficial, the students agreed. It made them stronger, and a lot less timid.

“I’ve had to reach out and meet other people,” Deitz said.