I am an introvert. I have been an introvert all of my life. When people get to know me, or when they meet me outside of social situations they comment on how reserved and “laid back” I am. At normal social events like parties, I can still interact with people and be upbeat, boisterous, and loud, but it is very draining. This is the true mark of an introvert. Being around people generally wears us out. Outside of social situations, introverts will generally seek out more solitary activities, like reading a book or playing a video game. Extroverts generally seek out more people. Being around people gives them more energy. This means that adjusting to college was a somewhat difficult experience for me because college is full of social interactions. It quickly became apparent that there were four main situations that college challenges introverts to adapt to.

Campus Clubs

One of the things I heard the most as I entered college was that I needed to try new things and meet new people. For an introvert, these can be daunting tasks. However, I decided that I would join some of the groups on campus. This put me in a difficult situation as both joining and belonging to several groups can be strenuous for me as an introvert. In this instance I got lucky. I was already a member of the debate team, and was therefore already part of one social group. I was able to overcome the stress of applying to social groups by realizing that I did not have to be a part of every group on campus. Instead, I decided to apply to groups that had activities that I enjoyed doing. I applied to be on the list serve for a fencing group, an archery group, and a cultural group. I did this with the full realization that I may not get involved with these groups at all, but that I had an option to come to a meeting or participate if ever I wanted to.

Parties and Social Gatherings

College life is filled with parties. Every college group throws a party at some point in time, and it is up to us introverts to decide how we react. I followed the same general rule I did for entering clubs. I went to the parties I was interested in. I went to parties where there were people I was friends with and quickly discovered that I wasn’t interested in parties that had a lot of drinking. I was able to realize that I didn’t need to go to parties I did not enjoy. This meant that while I didn’t end up going to a lot of parties, I did, however, go to social gatherings where there wasn’t a lot of drinking. I still made appearances at big parties when groups of my friends were there but didn’t end up going to many. I realized that I did not have to enter a situation where I wouldn’t have fun in order to please others. I also realized that despite being an introvert, it was still a good idea to try things out just in case I did like them, rather than not trying something out based purely on preconceived notions just to avoid social interaction.

Close friends

For an introvert, making friends can be a difficult task. In addition, we also get worn out by people easily and need to be alone, which means that sometimes friends can feel left out. In my freshman year of college, I found that making friends was surprisingly easy. I simply gravitated towards people who shared my interests, and by the end of my freshman year I had a close-knit group that I spent a good deal of time with. I found that the best way to avoid having my friends feel left out was simply by telling my friends the situation. My friends were able to realize that I couldn’t stay around them all the time, and we moved past it. I found other ways to show my appreciation for my friends. Even though I wasn’t always with them, I was with them when it counted and when I was around them I was always genuine.

Class

Being in class was another tricky experience for me as an introvert. Even though Whitman’s class size is much smaller than the standard state college, like many introverts, I can still find it difficult to speak out in larger groups. To make matters more difficult, since the classes at Whitman are smaller, there is more emphasis on class participation. I discovered the best way to navigate this situation was to simply get over it. I discovered that there are some situations in which you must do something until doing it becomes more comfortable. I decided that in a classroom environment this was the best course of action. That doesn’t mean I got into heated debates with other students, it doesn’t even mean I was always the first person with my hand raised. It just means that whenever I felt that I had something relevant to say, I wasn’t afraid to say it. At the end of the year I was comfortable speaking my mind in class, and I am better for it.

Not all introverts will feel the same as me. Some introverts might think these situations are easy. Other introverts might say that there are more difficult situations in college than these four. Some extroverts might even have trouble with these situations. I am in no way an authority on what all introverts feel. These are simply my experiences and what I have found most true is this: being an introvert doesn’t mean you can’t live life to the fullest. Introverts can do the same things as everyone else and have just as much fun.