How do you meet people in your 20's?

I've had this conversation many times over, with several different people... How do you meet people when you're in your mid-late 20's?

When we're young we're taught how to meet new people and how to make new friends; in fact we're so young when this lesson starts that most of us probably don't even remember learning it. By the time we're in 1st grade we have already had many different friends, several "best friends", and maybe even a boyfriend (/girlfriend) or two.

So why is it that by age 25 we have totally forgotten these skills? Making new friends never seems all that tough in school; with an ever changing class schedule and automatic things in common, friendships are practically ready-made. The real challenge comes once you leave the college campus and enter the real world. Sure, we meet people at work and form friendships with our coworkers. But all too often those turn out to be relationships better left at work; or our coworkers are in such a wide variety of stages in life that having close friendships is nearly impossible.

And this leaves me again to question... how does one meet new friends while in their mid-late 20's? As children we have no problem just introducing ourselves and playing with new friends. Why can't we do the same thing as adults?

Hi. I'm Melissa. Will you be my new friend?