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Making New Friends Is Hard, But Here's How I've Done It

Most of my childhood and the early stages of my adult life were spent doing solo activities, only to learn that being a strong, independent woman wasn't really that healthy if it meant going through life alone. Studies show that making friends is easier for children, but believing that it was too late for me would have left me doomed to a life of unhappiness, poor health and diminished intelligence. Because, if you want to be happier, healthier and smarter you need good friends around you, according to studies done by Wiley and The Mayo Clinic.

In 2004, I moved from Ghana to a small city two hours out of London, which was quite a culture shock. There were two black girls in my high school, and we came from the same house. My first friend was my high school librarian. It was a pretty good friendship, with unlimited access to books and dibs on the new ones I helped unbox and catalogue. I never went to parties, or met up with anyone outside school; I never even went to the prom.