The Support Network
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A Problem Shared: Making Friends
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This edition, The Support Network is being launched! We aim to use this feature to help you with any and all problems that you may be having, either in school or outside of school. It will be completely anonymous, allowing you to ask questions freely and without judgment, which will hopefully put you at ease.
This is being run by students here at Herts and Essex, which allows us to understand issues like exam stress and give you advice based on our own experiences. It also means that any discomfort that you may get from asking an adult will hopefully vanish as it is very likely that we will have struggled with similar issues ourselves. Here are some things you may want to contact us about: it could be that you’re struggling to make some friends, you could be having problems with how you feel about yourself and you just want to contact us to talk or to find out where you can get help. You may also be struggling with people bullying you and you may not know who to tell about it. You could even be struggling with homework and you might want some advice on what to do with it. Please feel free to contact us so that we can try and make your time during and after Herts and Essex a bit easier. We will answer every email personally to offer advice and understanding. We will also help by pointing you in the direction of help and we will be writing a feature article for every new edition of the Network based around common difficulties, students frequently contact us about. If an issue that is deemed to be a safeguarding matter is raised, this cannot be kept confidential. As a consequence, the information may need to be passed to the Designated Safeguarding Lead in the school and/or other professionals to help keep you, or other students, safe. Overall, we aim to make this an uncritical way of sharing your thoughts and feelings; there will be no judgment and lots of tips! If you have a problem, or something that is bothering you, let us know.
The Support Network is here for you whether your problem is big or small. Click here to contact us anytime at [email protected]. |
I know that coming into school and not having anyone to sit with at lunch or in lesson can be difficult. This September, when I joined Year 12, I personally found it difficult during my first few days. As I’m not the most social person in the world, it made it even more difficult for me to approach strangers and attempt small talk. Now, three months on, I have a great group of friends - and it isn’t because I’ve listened to people telling me to pretend that I like the same things as them, or because I changed my “style” and tried to look “cooler”. I’ve developed a good group of friends simply by being me.
I know whoever is reading this will probably think “Well, I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work” but think carefully about it because you might still be holding back or you might still be worrying that everyone will look at you or judge you. There will be someone out there who is as interested in you as you are them; my advice is that in order to find them, you shouldn’t hold back or hide. Go out there and just admit that you’re you. Don’t think that they may see you as weird because they won’t; in fact, they may even admire you and if you find the right person, I guarantee that they will probably match your personality and you’ll have a strong friendship. It may be daunting to approach a complete stranger within a school that may be new to you, but remember you may not be the only one who feels this way so attempt to talk to others who you may think are struggling. For you who are reading this and just want to help, when you’re in the lunch hall or in the common room (for the older students), approach someone who may look like they are struggling to make friends or who may look lonely because I know that they will appreciate your effort and you will make a new friend. So all I have left to say is embrace this new chance to make friends and have fun with it because the friends you make here at Herts and Essex may very well be friends for life… |
