During high school, I went to maybe two parties? One party I stayed at for hours solely because it was my cousin who had thrown it. The other party, I left after fifteen minutes or so because I was that uncomfortable.

I was never really close to any of my classmates; I preferred, and still do, to keep a smaller circle of friends rather than an abundance of acquaintances. And I'm okay with that. Yeah, sometimes it makes hanging out or going out to the movies hard because everyone is busy, but I don't let that bother me much.

I thought that college would be different, as I'm sure thousands upon thousands of other people think as well. I thought I'd make a lot of friends, go to a lot of parties with said friends, get drunk and do it all over again a week or two later. That didn't happen, not by a long shot.

I did put myself out there once and became best friends with Briana but that's it. I've talked to a few other people and I have their numbers and we check in on each other once in a while, usually through social media, but they're not close-knit friends of mine.

I thought college would embolden me but all it's really done is solidify the fact that I'm still a loner, that I prefer to be a loner, and that parties aren't my thing, even if they're thrown by my best friends or by someone in my family. I'm not comfortable around numerous people at one time and I don't think that will ever change, no matter how often I "put myself out there".

Looking back on when I started college two and a half years ago, I thought that peer pressure from new friends would help bring me out of my shell. That didn't happen and I'm so thankful it didn't. Who knows what would have happened to me if I had gotten tangled up in parties with alcohol and drugs when addiction runs in my family? I'm content with where I am now and I don't think I would've been if I had kicked off my college career in a completely different way.