alternative kids? how many of them are there at uni?

by alternative i mean: gothic, emo, nerdy, 'freaky', weird kids. any of them.
because i am one of them and like at college, think it would be hard to settle into uni life because all the more mainstream kids start to talk to you then realise your weird and leave you.
so how hard do you think it would be for me to make friends here?
because i get on with people who are my own.. umm.. species.
and they have to be the more laid back types like me. :biggrin:

i get bullied a lot and find it really hard to fit in and i dont feel comfortable acting like the more mainstraim people.
i also dont like clubbing or drinking that much because im shy. :colondollar:

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Reply 1

chidona

Depends on the uni and who you hang out with, really. There are more people, so the likelihood of bumping into them is higher, but generally people just mix with everyone rather than go for a specific 'category' of person (which is silly as no one really fits any mould perfectly anyway).

Just relax and talk to everyone; most people really don't give a **** if you're into certain music/tv/dress style as long you don't close yourself off from them. Of course there are people who will judge you, but **** them.

Reply 2

Phobia27

I genuinely don't think I've seen one emo yet at Loughborough uni so far, let alone a group of them.

Reply 3

HistoryRepeating

Original post by MonsterKitty

i get bullied a lot and find it really hard to fit in and i dont feel comfortable acting like the more mainstraim people.
i also dont like clubbing or drinking that much because im shy. :colondollar:

Most people have grown out of petty cliquish behaviour by then

Reply 4

nexttime

There are plenty of former-emo/goth types, but by the time you get to uni most people have grown out of such behaviour, in my experience at least. People tend to be a bit more inclusive, and i think making friends at uni is a lot easier for it.

Reply 5

firedoor

I always found that for the first couple months of a new school year, when kids fresh out of high school had come to uni, there would be a few visible 'goth' or 'emo' or 'punk' or whatever kids around.

But by the second semester in January they'd all disappeared, probably because they realised that outside of HS (or college, for your case) nobody gives a crap that you're 'alternative' (sorry to be blunt, it's mostly true though!)

I didn't like clubbing or drinking in uni either but I managed to make some amazing friends through work and uni clubs. Student radio/newspapers are good ways to meet people who may have been a bit 'alternative' before going to uni :wink:

Reply 6

girlwithsharpteeth

As most people have already said, the majority really don't care by the time you get to Uni and you are very unlikely to get bullied or excluded because of how you dress/the music you listen to. If you are really interested in meeting people in to the rock scene though, most Uni's will have a Rock Society where like minded people can meet up. But honestly, as long as you don't make a big deal out of it, it's likely that no one else will either - just try to make friends with everybody and you're going to realise you don't have to be friends with just other alternative kids...

Reply 7

MillerTraub

Original post by MonsterKitty

i get bullied a lot and find it really hard to fit in and i dont feel comfortable acting like the more mainstraim people.
i also dont like clubbing or drinking that much because im shy. :colondollar:

Most likely scenario:

You go to University, realise that you were just acting out the 'alternative stereotype' out of a desire to fit into a the niche. Instead you will try to act like the 'typical student', namely drink and go clubbing (after persuading yourself that it's great fun, and you only thought clubs sucked because the ones at home are crap).

This is based purely on how quickly you categorise people as 'us' and 'them'.

Alternatively:

You grow up, realise that people are people, some are dicks, some are not. You will feel a bit silly for considering yourself 'alternative' and weird for all those years.

You will then simply do things you enjoy, with people you like, without considering any such stereotypes. You will find new hobbies to do alongside your old ones.

Alternatively:

You start acting out the 'alternative' and weird bit even more than usual, simply because you are out of your comfort zone, and people wont want to spend time with you because you creep them out.

For example, my old flatmate would only come out of his room if there was a girl visiting. Then he would sit silently, drinking baileys, and staring at them.

Reply 8

Cicerao

"Kids"? Time to grow up, methinks.

As for the actual question, I saw one person who looked like a casual goth on the bus. Once. Have fun.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

Cicerao

Original post by MillerTraub

For example, my old flatmate would only come out of his room if there was a girl visiting. Then he would sit silently, drinking baileys, and staring at them.

Rapey.

Reply 10

Sylete

Pretty odd that people are like that in college...Since starting college ive become friends with people i never would've bothered with during high school.
The whole stereotype thing during high school was pretty stupid

Reply 11

Lucyyy

There's a couple of goth types kicking around at my uni, it's something people grow out of for the most part though. It's not just limited to emo/scene/whatever types though, I don't know about others but there's very little in the way of cliques at my uni. People integrate with all manner of people who they probably wouldn't have give a second thought to in high school, me included. It's nice! Don't make a big point of being 'alternative' and and you'll probably find it won't be of any hindrance to you, provided you're willing to get to know people outside of that clique too.

Reply 12

AlannahBanana

Original post by MillerTraub

For example, my old flatmate would only come out of his room if there was a girl visiting. Then he would sit silently, drinking baileys, and staring at them.

Ahahah i found this hilarious! bet he was a lot of fun to live with...

None really.

Every university pretty much has a rock music or metal society, you wont be short of people to socialise with who share the same interests.

Ignore the people above who say there are none.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 15

py0alb

As a general rule, the entire paradigm of fitting into cliched "groups" goes out of the window at university. So your question is effectively meaningless.

Reply 16

avalanche101

At my uni everyone hangs out with anyone :smile:

Reply 17

superwolf

I think most people who've answered so far have ignored the fact that some people have no choice but to be 'alternative' or whatever you want to call it. Some people are just different, and were never going to fit in at school, no matter how they dressed or acted.

But to answer your original question OP, I've found that in general people at uni are a lot more mature and broadminded (although I have come across the odd exception who still likes to bully and exclude people). So I think it's far more likely that people at uni will accept you for what you are.

Reply 18

jumpingjesusholycow

From what I've noticed, 95% of the student populous are made up of hipsters and indie kids.

Reply 19

Cicerao

Original post by fire2burn

Every university pretty much has a rock music or metal society, you wont be short of people to socialise with who share the same interests.

Ignore the people above who say there are none.

The problem is that those are people who have interests. I get the impression that OP was asking about the typical greasy-looking kids who are "alternative" more for the image than the music.