The Struggles Of Being An Introvert In College

After debating the pros and cons of leaving your room for the night, you finally decide to go out with your friends. You go, you dance, you laugh, but a couple of hours in and you’re ready to go. It was fun and all, but curling up in your bed and watching movies sounds much more appealing now.

The mindset of an introvert can be very confusing to those who do not understand it. Introverts are often labeled as being shy, socially anxious, or vulnerable. However, introversion is not correlated with any of those characteristics.

Introverts are people that are less motivated and energized by the possibility of rewards. They do not need outward stimulation to create a sense of belonging or personal drive. This means that introverts generally enjoy spending time alone. They are less likely to be found around large groups of people, and commonly alternate between periods of solitude and social activity.

This being said, college can be a very difficult adjustment for introverts, along with those who are in relation with an introvert. College really accentuates some of these intrinsic characteristics.

You have a constant fear of missing out on the fun, but find yourself perfectly content with staying home.

The ultimate paradox - you don’t want to be left out, but you just can’t gather enough motivation to get out and interact. Your friends invite you and you politely decline. You are filled with a sense of guilt when you see their Instagram pictures. Should you have gone out too? Nah.

When you do go out, it’s with a small group of friends that you’re comfortable with.

You hold a couple of friends close to you, and tend to have fun when you spend time with people you already know. You enjoy making memories and building on current relationships. You don’t go out with the goal of meeting new people, but you also aren’t opposed to the idea. This can become a problem, as you are less likely to make new friends, but then again, you are perfectly content with the ones you already have.

You don’t mind eating alone.

In fact, sometimes, you prefer it. You eat on your own schedule. You don’t need to wait until someone frees up time in order to go down to the cafeteria for lunch. You probably end up having to turn down lunch dates because you already made your daily trip, but at least you’re full and ready to take on the rest of the day.

You enjoy downtime.

A Friday night in bed with a good book or online shopping does not seem like a waste of time. After a long week, you’d much rather hang out in your sweats than go out to a party. This goes back to the whole Fear of Being Left Out phenomenon, but you just really enjoy relaxing and recharging your personal batteries.

You think a lot. I mean, A LOT.

You are a very analytical thinker. You enjoy taking situations and trying to understand why and how things happen. This can come in handy when you’re problem solving, but a lot of the time, your friends see you as being weird and philosophical or “too serious."

People see you as unfriendly.

You are often misunderstood. People take your silence as a sign of hostility, when in reality, you would love to meet new friends. You won’t exactly go out on a search for people to hang out with, but you will gladly return a kind smile and maybe even a (not too long) conversation. Introverts aren’t opposed to people! They just interact in different ways.

As an introvert, it can be very difficult to find your place in college. It may be hard to make friends and feel like you truly belong within the student body. Extroverts seem to slip right into the college life, but trying to be more of an extrovert for a little while can often be too exhausting. So where do introverts meet other introverts? We’re probably all doing the same thing - spending time alone.