Asklemmy

Personally? I smoke weed, drink, and contemplate death. It doesn't pay the bills but it also doesn't make me happy.

Movies make it seem like it's some magical land of partying and having life-changing experiences every week, but I think the average person just goes to class and goes home.

You may just be a bit more on the introverted side of the spectrum and that's normal. There are social expectations that we should "have lots of friends" and that college is a time to meet and hang out with people and do crazy stuff to think back on when we are in our 40s. I think those sentiments were created a few generations back when the cost of college wasn't necessarily a concern. But even you, who managed to do it so far without debt, had to think about the cost as a big factor and it impacted how you attended. Surprise! A bunch of young adults trying to get an education while being stressed about a potentially life-altering amount of debt and an uncertain future aren't really in the best place to be social and have fun. My point is don't blame yourself; the system is kind of fucked right now.

If you get your degree that's great, you'll have access to more doors in life and hopefully that means more free time to devote to things you already know you like and maybe some stuff you've yet to find out you like. If you feel like you want more friends, there are social clubs, discord servers, and meetups in towns/cities you can look into to find folks who are more or less aligned with your interests rather than your education level. There is still a lot about life you've yet to see and I think a not-so-great college experience won't be something you think about even a year after graduation.

My thoughts are that if you didn't make friendships or useful acquaintances during college then it's probably down first and foremost to your personality type and how your classes were scheduled. But first and foremost, your personality.

You seem to be hung up on the myth of college as "that special experience" but it's just a myth. If you happen to be just somewhat on the introvert side and your schedule mixed you up with different people for every course you were taking, good luck forging any long lasting relationships. You can socialise, of course, but if you don't share the time consistently with people then it's going to be about as long lasting as acquaintances you make on the elevator or the bus.

You will probably find you start networking much better once you get a job, simply because you will be spending time consistently with a limited amount of people.

You didn't miss much. Move on and succeed!

You can't control the past so there's not much point stressing out over it. Learn what you can from it and apply those learnings in the present where you can actually change things. If you feel you didn't do enough social things, maybe try joining clubs, being more proactive with organising things with your friends or something else that works for you.

Everyone's experience is different and it doesn't mean you did it wrong, you just focused on the things that made more sense to you at the time. Maybe you are realising you didn't value some other things enough and that's ok, you can bring those learnings forward.

Congrats on coming into your final year btw and good luck!

I read socialist analysis of alienation under capitalism and that seemed to do the trick for me.