Social anxiety sucks

I live with four roommates, three of which I met freshman year of college. People assume that we happened to get really close that year because we all lived a stone's throw away from each other in the same hallway on the same floor in the same building. But something I've never admitted is that I barely knew them, and vice versa, at the time.

Most of my freshman year was spent in solitude. I lived in a single dorm room - so I had no roommates - on a floor that consisted of all girls. We shared one bathroom that was on the other end of the hall from me. None of these things helped my adjustment into college and only fueled my social anxiety.

It got so bad that I would debate for hours at a time about whether or not I should even walk down the hallway to go to the bathroom and risk running into one of my floormates. And it made me feel so stupid.

Social anxiety sucks, and the more stressful your current situation is (like my transition into college), the more difficult it becomes to deal with. The worst part is that it's not something that's generally easy to fix.

The best you can do is to take small steps toward a better state of mind. Over the course of my freshman year, I had to make a lot of changes to myself for myself. Realize that social anxiety is common and natural in varying levels and forms. Realize that the only thing holding you back is your own inner voice and crush it! Slowly, if need be.

It's not gonna happen over night, and it takes a lot of mental effort. But just remember to believe in a better, healthier, happier you!

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