Towels? Check.

Mugs? Check.

Tea bags? Check.

Door-stop? Wait, what?

My mum was determined to pack that door-stop. I was unconvinced that I would have the courage to put it to any use. I pose this question to all fellow introverts: to door-stop, or not to door-stop?

Freshers’ Week for an introverted person is like an extrovert’s primary school teacher announcing that the individual, solitary, quiet reading hour a week has been extended to fifty. It is a challenge. That isn’t to say that all introverts will in no way, shape or form enjoy any part of Freshers’ Week, because introverts are not anti-social, anxious or self-exclusive people – as many believe. There are many aspects to starting life at university that do appeal. Many, on the other hand, do not.

This is where the the college accommodation room door (which I will abbreviate as CARD) comes in. CARD can be your Week One worst enemy or the best friend you fear you may never make in real life. As an introvert – someone who is comfortable in, and indeed really enjoys, her own familiar company – meeting new people is daunting. Our room provides unlimited comforts: our duvet cover from home, our beloved books, slippers, timetables, letters from friends, and our preferred sweetener for all that tea.

But more than these material comforts, it provides space for our own thoughts and actions, controlled by our own feelings. People and activity can stand in the way of these freedoms, whilst we do not feel ill towards them, it can be very daunting and draining at times. If freshers’ flu wasn’t enough in this first week at university, being an introvert and being expected to spend more time on the other side of CARD is stressful.

Personally, tea, cake and chat or wine, crisps and chat appeal more than vodka, pass-out and not chat in a loud or crowded environment. Susan Cain, in her fabulous Ted Talk, speaks of rowdiness, and the increased need to be ‘rowdy’. Rowdiness is not and will never be my middle name, nor many other introverts. Rowdiness however, most of the time, is present on the other side of CARD, so to protect yourself from it the door closes, and that door-stop stays in its bag.

I do not disapprove of rowdiness: it can be fun, and it’s a laugh and a chance to relax. But it isn’t for everyone. The worst feeling for an introvert is to feel judged, different or ‘wrong’ for not immediately rushing to sign up for that next big bar crawl. To feel invalid as a student for having a night in with a few friends, or even just yourself, Jammy Dodgers and GBBO shouldn’t be rational.

If that door-stop fills you with fear, don’t feel bad. Don’t hide away in your room, don’t be unresponsive to the people living around you, don’t be dismissive of the extroverts on the block (they are often the kindest of people), but be true to yourself. Decorate your CARD, open it to say hello to your neighbour; don’t open it when you have forgotten your key after a bathroom trip at 11:30pm. But don’t be scared of it. Your space can be associated with fear and worry just as much as it can with comfort and safety. The more that door becomes an issue, the more it will stand in your way. So make friends with that CARD and hang up your dressing gown on its back, but don’t be afraid to wear it for the quiet night in that you ARE worthy of. It is up to us to make university tailor to us, without being selfish or judgmental of the extroverts. They are lucky in many ways, but it’s not a weakness to enjoy one’s own company.

I suffer from anxiety. I am an introvert, but I don’t suffer from being one. The dictionary defines introverts as being “a person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings rather than with external things”. I don’t agree with this, because we do care about external things: namely, the world behind the CARD. But we cannot flow seamlessly into it. Just as it is a struggle to swim upstream in a fast rapid, so it is a struggle for introverts at university not to be judged as being the smallest fish in the pond, all because of that CARD.

To all introverts, in the words of Dr Susan Cain: “I wish you the best of all possible journeys and the courage to speak softly”. That’s it. Have courage to speak and tread softly, and have courage to treat the CARD with care and authority.

Don’t let a block of wood defy your university experience; it’s going to be great