Most American people learn the concept of introverted and extroverted personality types sometime around the age of 10. Thinking back to the time when I learned about these identity traits in middle school or late elementary, every kid in the class, including myself, was a proud, self-proclaimed extrovert. Nobody wanted to be the sad, sulky, quiet introvert- it just wasn’t cool. Now, a few years have passed, and hopefully, you’re able to identify with the correct side, knowing that one is just as good as the other. High school is over, and you are now a college-aged introvert, living independently (just the way you like it). With the independence of college, however, comes some activities that are not as admirable. Although you are not confined in one building and forced to socialize with the same body of students for seven hours a day, there are still some things that don’t perfectly live up to our wallflower-liking. Here are ten of the most difficult aspects of college for introverts.
1. Useless icebreakers
How many times can one possibly introduce their first name and favorite food? But thank god you know that Sarah's favorite animal is a horse.
2. Crowded social events
Huge frat parties filled with a hundred drunk people you don't know? That's an introvert's personal hell.
3. Small discussion-based classes
Intimacy in the classroom is not desired by any introvert. When the class is small, that means there's less of a chance to blend in. Instead, you stick out to everyone in your small class as they wonder if you have the ability to speak.
4.Classes that could fit in a football arena
On the other hand, huge lecture halls are not ideal either. Classrooms with a hundred kids are definitely easier to blend into, however, there is still the fact that you're surrounded by a hundred people who might potentially want to have a conversation...
5. Alone time who?
Anyone who lives in the dorms knows that this living arrangement calls for little to no alone time - something crucial in the lives of us introverts.
6. Getting asked to go out... every night
Having to say no to plans every night (or say yes and pray they're
7. Group projects
Ah, the dreaded group project. You thought that after high school, you'd finally be able to leave these social assignments in the past. But, as displeasing as it is to the college introvert, group projects are here to stay.
8. Lunch rush
That thirty-minute rush where everyone seems to collectively decide to storm the cafeteria is a nightmare to introverts. Crowds and lines of impatient college kids looking to eat mediocre cafeteria food is not an introvert's preferred situation.
9. Students everywhere
Besides the fact that you can't be alone in your dorm or cafeteria, don't expect alone time anywhere else on campus. The street, library, and coffee shops are more often than not filled with students from your university.
10. Job and activities fairs
Other college events that you can expect introverts to avoid are the job/activities fairs. Walking through an area with dozens of tables where each and every table's representative is trying to draw you into a conversation as you walk by? Nope.
