How To Be A 20 Year-Old Introvert

Socialize with some likable classmates and never see them outside of class. Wonder why you don’t just ask them to hang out. Realize you wouldn’t know where to invite them, anyway and spend Friday night avoiding social media.

Call your mom on your way to pick up lunch. Insists she stays on the phone with you while you eat because it’s sort of like eating together.

Decide to text that girl you were friends with freshman year. She texted you a month or two ago while you were at work and forgot to answer. The two of you make plans to hang out, but both of you know it probably won’t happen.

Get invited to go out with your sister and her friends. She’s already there, but you feel anxious about traveling alone. Stay home and play Animal Crossing instead.

Tell yourself that you need to make more of an effort to meet people.

Go on Chatroulette for the first time to try and socialize. Ten minutes later, ask yourself why that seemed like a good idea to begin with and cover your computer’s camera with a post-it note. Forever.

Decide you’ll go for a walk just to get out of your room. Eventually end up at the grocery store because despite having lived in the same place for three years, you still don’t have anywhere better in mind. At least you did something productive and got fresh air, right?

Text your best friend from home and joke around for a bit. Wish you saw him more often. Remember that you blew him off the last time you were supposed to hang out because you were already in your pajamas (kicker: it was only 9 PM). Feel guilty for being flakey all the time and tell yourself next time you’ll just change back into jeans.

Take your free alone time to explore your hobbies. Become good at something and find confidence in it.  Slowly realize that people seem to be drawn towards your confidence.

Get excited when others want to share in your hobby.  Ask them to hang out and mean it. Follow through and see how easy it was all this time.

Try not to let yourself fall back into your self-retreating habits, but also realize that being introverted isn’t always so bad—at least you are content being with yourself. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

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