Along with “jumbo shrimp”, “social introvert” is one of the biggest oxymorons out there. However, social introverts do exist, and I’m living proof of this.

Let’s start with the facts: introversion and extroversion has more to do with whether or not you are energized by interacting with people rather than how much you like to interact with people. Personally, I am more energized by spending time by myself even though I love spending time with my friends. However, I prefer to stay away from situations where I have to interact with lots of people I don’t know. Case in point: there was a night my freshman year when all of my roommates were going to frat parties, I stayed in my room and watched The Lego Movie. On the other hand, I love going to campus-sponsored events and just grabbing lunch with friends.

There is also the dreaded small talk. I cannot even begin to count the times I have had the “what’s your major” conversation. Finding common interests or even just further conversations is one of the best things that can happen when I’m meeting new people, as long as I can get past the awkward introductions.

Here’s where things get tricky: I’m a marketing majors. Most people assume that marketing majors are extroverts. While I’m not the most outgoing person, I do have passion and creativity, which is why I chose my major. I am able of pushing myself out of my comfort zone to pursue new things as well as my passions. With this being said, I am most comfortable around people with whom I share common interests with.

I also had to become a social introvert due to a number of circumstances. First of all, I’m an army brat so making new friends every couple of years was almost second nature to me. Then around fifth grade or so, I entered the awkward years. It was now harder to start up conversation with just anyone, so there were a few years where I just stayed in my shell. After leaving the awfulness that is middle school, I became more comfortable with myself again. Now as a sophomore in college, I have a (somewhat) active social life and some very good friends from both my high school and Auburn. However, given the choice, I’ll always choose Netflix over parties.