Newbie Assignment: 2025

[Lucky hunt]

Hello everyone,

My name is Lukey. I’m a student at a college in NC. If my posts seem consistent, it’s probably because I’m doing schoolwork. I also plan to stay dedicated to posting.

I’ve already completed Days 1 through 3. If anyone has any feedback, please let me know—don’t be afraid to say something. I really appreciate feedback, and I’m trying to learn everything I can.

Tell me if you like the way I wrote this or not. I have a lot more I could write, but I didn’t want to overload you. This is just the cleaner, shorter version to make it easier to read. Thank you.

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Day 1: Observation​

I live in Campus City. The places I found were:

• Walking around campus
  
  
• Community college down the road
  
  
• The student library
  
  
• The dorm area
  
  
• The downtown mall plaza
  
  
• Downtown itself
  

The only problem with downtown is that it doesn’t have many people unless it’s night time. I also noticed that walking back toward the housing area right next to campus, there’s usually a steady flow of people. It’s a small community grid of houses where students rent and live, and a lot of people cross the street there.

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Day 2: Posture​

I usually have pretty good posture. I keep my head up and my back straight, and I’ve practiced walking with my arms swinging naturally (instead of stiff shoulders, which can look too aggressive).

My main issue is that I walk a little too fast—almost like a speed racer. Sometimes, if I feel like people are watching me, I start overthinking my walk. Then it feels like I’m walking funny, even though I probably look fine (LOL).

Observing others around campus:

• Most people walk with their heads down and AirPods in.
  
  
• Since it’s summer, a lot of girls wear sunglasses, but usually still look down.
  
  
• Girls walking in groups often keep their heads turned inward toward their friends.
  
  
• Guys on campus either stick their chests out or look down at their phones, scrolling TikTok while walking.
  

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Day 3: Eye Contact​

Making eye contact today didn’t feel awkward, but it did feel a little uncomfortable—like I was staring too hard. A few examples:

• I made eye contact with an older lady while walking back to class. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. That one felt good.
  
  
• I saw an Indian girl who looked at me. I looked back and smiled. She kept holding eye contact—almost like she was studying my whole face.
  
  
• I passed a bigger girl who kept looking in my direction. I looked at her, then toward her friend to give myself a break and ease the tension. I didn’t want to look down or away as we crossed paths.
  
  
• On my way back to the dorms, I saw another girl. We made eye contact, and she smiled. She even tried to say “hi,” but I had my earphones in and didn’t respond. I felt bad afterward—I should’ve said hi back.
  

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PS – Days 4 & 5 Thoughts​

I usually say hi to people while walking by them or if we’re passing each other in between classes. If they look at me, I say “hey” or “what’s up,” you know.

My only problem is this: do you want me to just walk up to somebody sitting at a table, or standing in a group, and say hey to them? Because I can do that, but I kinda think it would be weird if I just walked up and interrupted someone else’s conversation.

I would really like to compound Day 4 and Day 5 if that’s OK. But my problem with four and five is this: after I say hi or ask, “how’s your day,” how do I excuse myself? Do I just walk away? Because if I just walk away, it kind of feels like the conversation just dropped. Wouldn’t that make the girl feel weird, and maybe even give me a “weirdo” reputation on campus?

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Final Note​

Also, I’m clear at the beginning stages (like walking up to someone and saying “Hi”), but I get lost on what to do after that. That’s the part I’d like to get better at. Thank you.

 

[politepilot]

You might want to do social experiments like this not on your own campus so you can be a weirdo without repercussions in social circle

 

[Chase]

Lukey,

Welcome, man!

Nice going with the first few days.

If nothing else, keep doing the eye contact, smile at any girls who return it, and challenge yourself to say "Hi!" to girls who smile back (like that last Day 3 girl).

My only problem is this: do you want me to just walk up to somebody sitting at a table, or standing in a group, and say hey to them? Because I can do that, but I kinda think it would be weird if I just walked up and interrupted someone else’s conversation.

The Newbie Assignment is about stretching your comfort zone a bit while building up some positive reference experiences.

So, if you can comfortably open sitting or standing groups and feel like you can get into a decent conversation, that is okay.

If you would end up opening awkwardly, not knowing what to say, then ejecting, with a group of people watching you, then no. Would do more harm than good ("Oh man, I bet they're all talking about how random that was right now! Crap!").

It's fine to just greet random people you see here and there as you go about your day, who are on their own, walking around, standing around, returning eye contact, etc.

(Sounds like you are already doing that, so should be easy enough!)

I would really like to compound Day 4 and Day 5 if that’s OK. But my problem with four and five is this: after I say hi or ask, “how’s your day,” how do I excuse myself? Do I just walk away? Because if I just walk away, it kind of feels like the conversation just dropped. Wouldn’t that make the girl feel weird, and maybe even give me a “weirdo” reputation on campus?

Two ways. Here is the first one:

YOU: Hey, how's it going?
GUY: Good man! How about you?
YOU: It's going great! Stay awesome!
GUY: You too, buddy!

YOU: How's your day?
GIRL: Great! How's yours?
YOU: Never better! See ya!
GIRL: See you!

In this case, you're in and out, just injecting some friendliness and positivity and moving on.

I did this for a while in college after having seen a couple of popular kids doing it in high school and after a few weeks doing it I had people I'd greeted a few times literally start stopping me to engage with me, treating me like we were old friends, wanting to know more about me. Super refreshing (but then I realized I was the one who was being refreshing first -- they were just returning the favor and expanding upon it!).

You really just leave a positive mark on people just showing a little sunshiney interest in them, even if it's just very quick here and there. They start to recognize you and like you.

The other way is to stop and have a quick little conversation if you're up for it.

But the drive-by "ask then eject on a positive note" is the easiest and all you really need to do for this exercise.

Cheers,
Chase

 

[Lucky hunt]

You might want to do social experiments like this not on your own campus so you can be a weirdo without repercussions in social circle

Thank you for the advice. You’re right—I’ll probably try it at the community college down the road. I only take one class there, and this will probably be the last class I take at that school.

 

[Lucky hunt]

Lukey,

Welcome, man!

Nice going with the first few days.

If nothing else, keep doing the eye contact, smile at any girls who return it, and challenge yourself to say "Hi!" to girls who smile back (like that last Day 3 girl).



The Newbie Assignment is about stretching your comfort zone a bit while building up some positive reference experiences.

So, if you can comfortably open sitting or standing groups and feel like you can get into a decent conversation, that is okay.

If you would end up opening awkwardly, not knowing what to say, then ejecting, with a group of people watching you, then no. Would do more harm than good ("Oh man, I bet they're all talking about how random that was right now! Crap!").

It's fine to just greet random people you see here and there as you go about your day, who are on their own, walking around, standing around, returning eye contact, etc.

(Sounds like you are already doing that, so should be easy enough!)



Two ways. Here is the first one:

YOU: Hey, how's it going?
GUY: Good man! How about you?
YOU: It's going great! Stay awesome!
GUY: You too, buddy!

YOU: How's your day?
GIRL: Great! How's yours?
YOU: Never better! See ya!
GIRL: See you!

In this case, you're in and out, just injecting some friendliness and positivity and moving on.

I did this for a while in college after having seen a couple of popular kids doing it in high school and after a few weeks doing it I had people I'd greeted a few times literally start stopping me to engage with me, treating me like we were old friends, wanting to know more about me. Super refreshing (but then I realized I was the one who was being refreshing first -- they were just returning the favor and expanding upon it!).

You really just leave a positive mark on people just showing a little sunshiney interest in them, even if it's just very quick here and there. They start to recognize you and like you.

The other way is to stop and have a quick little conversation if you're up for it.

But the drive-by "ask then eject on a positive note" is the easiest and all you really need to do for this exercise.

Cheers,
Chase

Thank you, Chase, for the advice. I think I’ll be trying the drive-by method. The assignment said to talk to six people—do strangers count too?

 

[Lucky hunt]

Me – Today’s Update


I was busy with schoolwork, and I had lost my wallet, but I was able to get it back. I’m so sorry for the late post.


Last night, I went out walking around downtown. I was planning to approach people or try to talk to them, but I backed out. Everyone seemed to be in groups, and they all looked like they had friends already.


The friends I’ve made at school so far don’t really go out—they usually just drive back and forth from school to their homes. I’m still working on trying to make more friends who go out or at least hang out.


When I got my wallet back today, I decided to walk around and try to meet at least six girls, like my goal said I should. Unfortunately, I only managed to meet two. One of the two girls I saw was with her family, so I said hi to all of them. I felt a little defeated because everywhere I went, it seemed empty—at campus, the mall, and even downtown. Most girls were with their sororities since it’s recruitment week and also a dry week for them. I did try saying “hi” to people, but it wasn’t very successful.

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Encounters Today

• First girl: A light-skinned brown girl. We were both crossing the bridge/walkway. I smiled and said “hi.” While walking, I asked, “How was your day?” She smiled back, said “hi,” and told me her day was good. As we passed each other, she asked me about my day with a smile. We were both turning our bodies slightly while walking past each other. Thinking back, I probably should have stopped, because that was the best interaction of the day. I just turned my head and said, “ it was good,” but we both kept walking without stopping.
• Second girl: I saw her walking, and at first, I thought she was alone. I said “hey,” but then I noticed she was with her grandpa, her dad, and her mom. She said “hey,” and then her whole family said “hey” as they walked past me. Since her family was there, I didn’t say anything else.
• Third girl: I saw her down the street on campus. As I walked toward her, I tried to act like I didn’t see her. But as I got closer, she ended up crossing the street before I could say anything.

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Reflection


It wasn’t the best day, but at least I tried. Tomorrow is a new chance, and I’m going to work on reading some openers tonight.