Struggles of an Extrovert

My name is Lauren Staley, and I am an extrovert. Dictionary.com defines an extrovert as an outgoing, gregarious person. Carol Bainbridge, Gifted Children Expert, notes, “Extroverts tend to “fade” when alone and can easily become bored without people around.” This statement could not be truer.

This past Saturday I found myself alone without anyone to hang out with for the first time in as long as I can remember. Almost all my friends left campus for one reason or another, and I had to stay around to work Saturday evening. I would be lying if I said my extroverted self wasn’t somewhat dreading my quiet Saturday afternoon. 

My intense need to be with people arose freshman year of college. As a freshman, and even into sophomore year, I suffered from the fear of missing out, or what has been affectionately shortened to a term used by today’s high school and college students as FOMO. Just like any college freshman I was scared if I was sitting in my dorm room instead of hanging out with people I would miss out on something fun or exciting.  It actually gave me a degree of anxiety to know people might be having fun without me.

By the middle of sophomore year I had firmly established my friend group and no longer feared I would miss out on something. However, I had developed a need to simply be with my friends during any spare moment of the day. Thirty minutes to kill before a meeting: go see friends. Eating dinner: do it with friends. Absolutely nothing to do: be with friends. I don’t get hooked on Netflix and my Pinterest activity goes way down during the school year because instead of during those kinds of leisurely activities, I would rather be doing something where I engage with others. 

As a senior, my fear of missing out and need to be surrounded friends has greatly diminished. I have finally accepted the fact that even if I am not always with my friends doesn’t change the fact that they will always be there for me. However, to look at my Saturday schedule and see it wide open with no one to hang out with made me uneasy.

Even though it was weird, I managed to fill most of the day doing things I would never do on a Saturday afternoon. I ate all my meals alone, did homework, scrolled through the entirety of all newsfeeds of all social media platforms, and even worked out. Yes, you heard correctly: I worked out, by myself, on a Saturday afternoon. As fun as it was to be alone for a day, I would prefer not to do it again for awhile. Call it a curse or call it a gift: I almost never get tired of being with people; especially all my friends in these pictures who make my life a brighter place.