Having social anxiety is tough, and having social anxiety as a college student is a nightmare that some are forced to experience everyday during the semester. Want to turn in your test so you can leave class early? Too bad, you have to wait until someone else gets up first so you are not the first person that everyone stares at. Now someone is handing in their test but you do not want to look like you were waiting for them to get up so you have to wait another minute or two. Want to throw out your granola bar wrapper? You have to wait until class ends because you do not want the whole class to stare at you as you walk to the garbage can ten feet away in the middle of the lecture. Waiting in the hallway with the rest of your class to enter the classroom? Make sure you have your phone so you do not have to make awkward eye contact with anyone else in the hallway. Social anxiety is an obstacle that constantly keeps college students from enjoying their college experience the way they are supposed to. Here are five struggles every college student with social anxiety can understand:
1. When your friend asks “Hey, what’s up?” as he walks by and you reply with, “Good, and you?”
2. When your professor is taking attendance and you rehearse saying “here” in your head until your name gets called to make sure you don’t mess up and embarrass yourself in front of everyone.
3. When your friends ask you to hang out during your three hour break and you say, “Sorry, I have a test to study for! Maybe next time.” Meanwhile….
4. When you go to a party that your friends dragged you to and think, "I knew I should have stayed home. I have been here for exactly one hour and three minutes, that means I have to go seventeen more minutes without doing anything stupid before I can finally leave."
5. When you are ordering food during your lunch break and feel like you are holding up the "long" queue of students who need to get to class even though there is only one person behind you:
