Lonely holidays

[Bucket Hat]

I'm making an effort to invite friends to hang out, but they're usually 'busy' and I wish for once someone would ask me. Or that they would at least send the first message. I don't know which part of Australia I'll be in 1 month from now (waiting for offers) so I can't get a job. The local volunteering/sports/music clubs I've looked at are closed over summer. I spend so much time alone in my room that I'm resorting to walking around shopping malls just to see other humans, not that it helps much..

It's such an awful empty feeling - any ideas?

[Joseph41]

Hey Bucket Hat!

Welcome to ATAR Notes. Sorry to hear of your situation.

I'm not sure how much useful advice I have tbh, but wanted to respond with a couple of ideas. Take them or leave them - they might be at least something to build on.

* I reckon quite a few people on this forum would be in a similar position atm! You could use this thread to see if anybody wants to hang out: the catch-up organisation thread.
* I wouldn't give up on your friends. It is a pretty busy time at the moment. Perhaps now that it's getting further into the new year, they'll be more available to chill?

What are you hoping to get into, out of interest?

[Bri MT]

Hey,


Sorry to hear about the difficulties you're having . Have you looked up your local youth centre to see if they have anything on? Are any of your local libraries running activities?
Maybe you could pick up running and run through local parks etc? That way you'd be doing something (positive for your mental and physical wellbeing) while going through areas where there are likely to be other people.

It's not the same, but interacting with people online can help fill in the gap. There's plenty of ways to do that, whether through forums (like this one), social media groups, gaming etc.


Good luck

[jazcstuart]

Maybe you could pick up running and run through local parks etc? That way you'd be doing something (positive for your mental and physical wellbeing) while going through areas where there are likely to be other people.

Hi
Building on miniturtles running idea, have you heard of parkrun? It is a free weekly timed run on Saturday mornings, and there are 342 locations across Australia so you could potentially keep doing it where ever you move. Most importantly it is friendly and inclusive with really good community spirit, particularly if you go to the same parkrun and start getting to know the regulars. If you put yourself out there I'm sure you'd be able to find some running buddies. This is the website: https://www.parkrun.com.au

Good luck getting your offers for uni!

[Erutepa]

Hi
Building on miniturtles running idea, have you heard of parkrun? It is a free weekly timed run on Saturday mornings, and there are 342 locations across Australia so you could potentially keep doing it where ever you move. Most importantly it is friendly and inclusive with really good community spirit, particularly if you go to the same parkrun and start getting to know the regulars. If you put yourself out there I'm sure you'd be able to find some running buddies. This is the website: https://www.parkrun.com.au

Good luck getting your offers for uni!

agree with this!
I think parkrun is a great event with a great community. Plus, there is such a great range of abilities at those event - from real fast runners to those who walk with prams - that you will not feel out of place.

[K888]

Bit of a late-comer to this, but 2 places that wouldn't be closed to volunteers over summer would be hospitals and animal shelters!

[TheAspiringDoc]

Bit of a late-comer to this, but 2 places that wouldn't be closed to volunteers over summer would be hospitals and animal shelters!

Great ideas! Have you done either of these

[K888]

Great ideas! Have you done either of these

I've volunteered at a hospital but not at an animal shelter! I'm pretty busy with work at the moment but I think I'd like to get involved in volunteering again, even if it's just one day a week. I've found animals really therapeutic for me in the last year or so, (even though I never had pets growing up) so I think I might have a chat to a couple of nearby shelters and see what would be involved Would be very pleased if my role was to pat the dogs and cats all day

[TheAspiringDoc]

I'll see if there's any local animal volunteering places! Hopefully you don't need training though..
Also I'm gonna try out St John Ambulance this year!!

Thanks for the shout-out :O

[K888]

I'll see if there's any local animal volunteering places! Hopefully you don't need training though..
Also I'm gonna try out St John Ambulance this year!!

Thanks for the shout-out :O

Oh that's really good! All the best with it

Another suggestion for anyone reading this thread - if you live in a CFA area it can be a great place to volunteer. From the age of 16 you can do your "minimum skills" training which not only trains you about fire fighting but also radio use and stuff. If you don't want to go and respond to incidents on the fire truck, you can opt to just help out around the station and participate in things like fundraising and education nights. I have several family members who are CFA volunteers and they really enjoy the community aspect of it.