Introverted troubles by Wania Khan (11S)
Shifting from a different country can be a huge change. I shifted to Sri Lanka from Pakistan
due to the nature of my father’s job. I was always used to the lifestyle and culture of Pakistan
and so being in Sri Lanka was a drastic change. I enrolled in an international school which
was CIS. But the thing was that my social skills had deteriorated due to Covid which my
parents were well aware of. I was an introverted child who had troubles with talking.
So, here I was in school filled with diversity and very extroverted people. I was filled with
anxiety and completely clueless on where to go and what to do. I didn’t know who my
classmates were so I had to ask teachers for help. After a great deal of trouble, I made it to
my form class. I sat at the corner all quiet. Some tried talking to me as they recognized I was
new since I had an unfamiliar face. In the beginning they would help to guide me to where
my classes were but when it was break time I found myself to be all alone. The thing was
that I couldn't even find the people who had helped during break so that I could strike a
conversation with them and make friends. I endlessly strolled around the school grounds and
all I could see was groups of students flocked together. It was very intimidating to approach
a large group and I wanted to approach a single person first but that was near impossible.
There was no one who was alone. Everyone had friends who they knew from way back. So,
I was left all alone.
Being a very shy person and not knowing much about how to communicate I decided to hide
away in the library. I took my textbooks out trying to seem busy and a hardworking student
but the truth was that I was isolated. I was able to make a friendly enough connection with
my teachers but I experienced trouble when it came to making friends. I didn't want to talk in
classes as I didn't want to disrupt my teacher’s lessons. So, I remained quiet just waiting for
the right moment to make friends or for someone to just talk to me. But no one dared to
approach me. I didn’t even know why.
Soon enough the library became my safe haven where I would stay during breaks and
buried myself in work to avoid social interactions because I didn't feel quite ready yet. I
always knew I was an introvert and used it as an excuse to not make friends. Also, being an
introvert meant I had good observation skills. It wasn't long when I found a girl who was a
fan of games like me. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to make a friend. So we would talk
about the lore and stories of different games. I also made friends with the other new kids,
and people who had the same religion as mine.
Little by little I warmed up to people over our shared interests and soon enough I had just
enough friends to not be alone in break anymore. I slowly stopped going to the library and
would hang out with them instead during breaks. Although I’m still an introvert and would
always find myself going to the library from time to time, compared to before my social
situation had improved. My social circle is still small but now I'm not lonely anymore. The
library will still be my safe haven when I get overwhelmed by the social interactions as all
introverts still need time to themselves. And if you seem to have trouble with making friends,
always start with the ones who seem similar to you. Socialization can be daunting but don't
be afraid of taking that first step.