I’ve always been an introvert. A pretty conscious loner. A timid and quiet individual. And though I have blossomed with time, there hasn’t been any other experience as challenging for me as college.
I have been a dot in the 60,795 students in Gainesville, facing new faces and new challenges. You have to flourish or you might get lost.
And for an introvert like me, the times might be hard, but the lessons— they stick with you.
For all those who identify with this, I have a few of the biggest things I learned throughout college in this article:
Lesson #1: Recharge your social energy
Every single day in college, it’s a new experience and getting to know new people. In other words, you’re continually being pushed out of your comfort zone.
In those moments, I just can feel myself getting drained. My social energy is at the lows.
The key here: recharge your social energy.
Take your time. It’s important for us to go back to ourselves before having to be out there giving it all.
Lesson #2: Counteract the bad and reward the good
We all have it: the bad and the good. And for us introverts (or at least for me), either way they hit too hard, so I have found ways to channel those feelings.
For everything that I feel is a failure, I counteract it. For instance, networking is so important nowadays. But often, it doesn’t go as we want it to.
Every success, I reward it.
Lesson #3: Find your tribe and don’t feel bad if you don’t
Because introverts are constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zone, an emotional support system is key for us. We need people to celebrate our successes and someone to lean on when things don’t go our way.
However, clicking with and finding people who understand is often hard. Don’t feel bad if you don’t find them right away. Build your own persona first and then, things will come your way.
Lessons #4: Just do it
Take the risk. Push forward and be done with it. Once it’s over, it’s not going to be that scary anymore.