Living as an introvert in college can be a wild ride. College is one of the most social atmospheres in the history of ever. In a place that never stops talking, there’s not a day that goes by where we don't interact with people. It's a unique period of our lives where we are constantly surrounded by people, whether we're in our room, at class, or studying. On rough days, this can be an intorvert's own personal hell. It's not that we don't like people. It's not even that we hate socializing. It just requires a tremendous amount of effort.
One of the most popular (and incorrect) myths about introverts is that we just hate anyone and everyone. We don't dislike people, we just won't talk unless we either have something important to say, or are with close friends. In a large group of people, we generally won't talk if we don't have anything super important to say. We're not trying to be rude nor do we hate you. If we're not talking, we just don't have something to say that would be absolutely essential to the conversation. Introverts tend to stay silent while processing their surroundings. This means we tend to be thoughtful and quiet, especially if we're in a particularly chaotic environment (like college). For introverts, the constant socialization that college requires can be really overwhelming.
Some people think that introversion means we hate spending time with people, or would rather be alone all the time. While it's true that introverts may choose to spend more time alone than an extrovert, the vast majority of introverts want to spend time with people, and deeply enjoy social occasions. However, after a while, we are exhausted. For us, socializing is like running a marathon. We feel pretty good in the beginning, but by the end, we're exhausted and ready to pass out in bed. Like I said before, college is a hugely social environment. Some days it can be super fun, but other days it can take a huge toll on an introvert. We have days where we physically cannot be peppy and talk to everyone. These are the days where we huddle up in our dorm room and watch Netflix while eating pizza. We need time alone with our thoughts to recharge, and regain our energy. This means that sometimes, we have to take a day to go for a walk, watch tv, or eat a meal alone. We aren't unhappy or upset, we are taking time to recharge. In a world that favors the personality of an extrovert, this can be difficult. It's important to remember that introverts, while they may be more quiet, are not unsociable. We are capable of having friendships, having fun, and enjoying life. We just function differently. There are various different levels of introversion and everyone is different. We can't change and become extroverts, because that's not who we are. We enjoy our alone time, and live in our heads a lot. And that's okay.
