A factor I’ve observed when forming new friendships is who owns the olive branch.
In situations where someone enters a new environment there’s usually someone who is more familiar to the environment. In these situations, the person who is most familiar with the environment holds the olive branch and it is up to them to extend to the person who is less familiar in order to form a friendship.
A very direct example is someone who goes to a new school, a new environment. Their friend group is often dictated by which ever of the existing students extends an olive branch to them. It is a high expectation to expect someone who comes to a new school to come to you to initiate a friendship.
Another example is when i moved to Toronto. I was often my brother’s plus one to group outings. In many situations i was not the one who held the olive branch, and consequently was never extended it. In many other situations I did not hold the olive branch, but was graciously extended it.
Extending the olive branch is simply extending your sense of familiarity to someone else. If someone is new, they may not feel comfortable to immerse themselves. It takes the warmth of someone else for them to open up.
In these instances when I didn’t receive the olive branch, it wasn’t malicious. But nobody cared to start a conversation despite me being out of place and standing alone.
Of course nobody owes it to you to make you feel comfortable, and some people themselves are shy. But nonetheless it’s a nice gesture.
My ask is that you should be aware of situations when you are the one that holds the olive branch. You don’t need to force a friendship, but share you warmth with someone else!