Attending college is scary enough, but for an introverted student, college is the ultimate challenge. I am not ashamed to admit it: I am an introvert. I am the girl who would rather sit in my room and only leave for class. I do not plan my schedule around events happening on campus. I prefer to be by myself than in a crowd of people. College is a the center of social situations and interactions and most of the time I want nothing to do with that, but while attending Blackburn I have had to face those fears.
Blackburn is different from the other colleges that I have attended in the fact that it is a very social campus. Some of that comes from the fact that it is such a small campus and on a small campus it can be hard to hide yourself in such a small crowd. Before coming to Blackburn I was able to just be the student in the back of the class who showed up on time and left as soon the professor would end the discussion. I never really talked during classes, but I can’t really do that here and have been called on many times to give my opinion or answer a question.
When an introvert is forced to participate in class or ice breakers at work, it can be completely humiliating. I know it’s meant to be helpful in and out of the classroom, but in all honesty it makes my anxiety horrible. That’s the thing I don’t think some people understand: I hate going to some classes knowing that I may have to speak in front of people. It is an important skill to have for life, but when you have panic attacks in the middle of class those situations are the worst. I would prefer to stay the quiet student in the back of the class and only have to speak occasionally.
I will read ahead in a reading during class and find the section I am going to have to read, all so that I hopefully don’t stutter in front of the class. If you are in class and know who the quiet ones are, please don’t force them to speak all of the time. Don’t ask them to read out loud if there are others who would prefer to. We introverts would love it if this was an option for class.
Introverts at Blackburn are also thrown into the work world with the work program being part of the curriculum. This is another nightmare I knew I was going to have to face. On the one hand, anxiety causes me not to want to go to work and instead find a way to work from my room and not go out. On the other, I am thankful that I have this opportunity to find a way to work while being an introvert.
Being an introvert in college is difficult. There is this belief that college is a time to be the social butterfly and that you need to be friends with everyone and be involved with everything on campus. College is not just for the social butterflies of the world. The quiet students on campus need to know that it is okay to be the one who sits in the back of the class or the one who stays in their room because that was not the case when I started college and Blackburn is a place where introverts can be themselves.