What Happens When an Introvert Goes to a Party, as Told by Ron Swanson

It’s no secret that most introverts go to great lengths to avoid parties. Sure, parties might be a crucial aspect of the college experience, but introverts rarely thrive in that kind of environment. It’s a sensory overload that quickly drains us of all social and emotional energy. Especially after a long week, most of us would rather spend an evening in solitude or alongside a close friend or two. 

However, there is the rare occasion where the stars align and an introvert feels motivated enough to venture out of their comfort zone to attend a party. What is this social experience like for the everyday introvert? I’ll let Ron Swanson explain:

We might spend the day beforehand feeling apprehensive about going.

We will be on the fence about actually going to the party for a while, thinking of all the creative excuses we could make to get out of it. A party just doesn’t sound as good as binge-watching our favorite episodes from The Office for the sixth time. 

Upon arrival, we make our initial impressions.

Who’s here? What kind of food are they serving? Is there a place I can sit down and avoid social interaction? These are important questions that require IMMEDIATE answers. 

We stick to our friends the entire night, following them around like a lost puppy.  This is especially true at parties where we don’t know anyone but the friends we came with. We don’t have anything against strangers; we’d just prefer not to make awkward small talk on our own if we can help it. 

We might let loose eventually (if we feel comfortable enough to.) 

It really depends on if we feel safe with who’s around us and if we can count on our friends to watch out for us. Otherwise, we’ll probably remain fairly quiet and observe others from a distance. Even if we don’t feel comfortable enough to let loose, we can still get a kick out of watching others do so!

After all is said and done, we realize it wasn’t so bad after all. 

We’re usually pretty proud of ourselves for going to a party despite being on the fence about it. Looking back, it was kinda nice to get to know new people and be in a different environment for a short period of time. 

Of course, we are definitely still looking forward to some quality alone time the next day.

What can we say? We love being alone! Not even the best party could change that about us, but it’s why introverts are so special.

[Gifs courtesy of giphy]

• introvert
• parks and recreation
• parties
• party
• ron swanson