Five Things for an Extroverted-Introvert to Enjoy Before College.

I’ve had a lot of changes happen in my life. I’ve changed a lot as a person in my life. This blog is a testament to that, and it’s one of the things I love about it.  All that is to say, once again my life has gotten crazy. It’s probably been one of the biggest change in my life, and it as a result has changed everything involved in my life. I have officially moved in to a college campus and am attending the University.

I know. College, woo, it’s the best four years of your life, enjoy it while it lasts. The college experience. Take advantage of it, learn how to live, meet people, party until the break of dawn everyday of your life. That’s great and all, and maybe some of that is true. However, for an Extroverted-Introverted/over-thinker/anxiety ridden individual such as myself, people often leave out the stress that also comes from college. When you’re first going to college, you’re stressed from the fact that you literally know none of the people around you. So, you’re forced to make friends, and the way you are going to go about that is quite the burden to think about, at least if you have to think about every little aspect like I do. Not to mention, you have classes, a job usually, you have to pick and decide a major that you may or may not stick with, but will determine the amount of money you end up either borrowing or somehow obtaining, and will certainly determine how the rest of your life turns out. So. You know, no pressure. Just enjoy the best four years of your life partying and having no responsibilities or worries. Because that’s possible in such an environment. Anyways, I’m here to write about several things that I find myself missing already, only a week into this whole college life, and living on campus thing. I’d like to preface this with the fact I’ve had very little experience here so far, and my “dorm” is a hotel room. All this is to say that I’m speaking only from my experiences and from what I’ve seen. Take a note that this is coming from an extroverted introvert’s perspective. In other words, this is my opinion, and it’s not from anyone else’s experience at college.

1.) Enjoy living with your parents and/or siblings.

“But Josiah,” You say to me, “You don’t understand my parents and/or siblings. They’re horrible, messy, and tease me all the time.” You might be right. They might be all those things. But. They’re familiar. You, in some form or other, trust them. You’ve lived with them your whole life, so you understand how they function. You get them. You know what they love, what they hate. How to get on their nerves, how to avoid punishment, how to hide from them, and you can always find one way or another to be away from them and be alone. (Trust me, for an introvert/ambivert, this was incredibly essential.) When it was first revealed to me that I was going to get a roommate, I was actually pretty excited at first. I thought it’d be great. All the sitcoms I’ve seen flashed through my mind, and I thought that it’d be awesome to get to know someone so well and become best friends with them. Sure, that might be true in the television shows, but when you’re given a complete stranger, the chances your personalities are going to mesh well is close to one in a million. Even if you love your roommate, for quite some time it simply isn’t the same. You just can’t be as comfortable around them as you could your family. Not to mention, nothing about them is familiar. You have to relearn how to live and interact with someone. The tedious amount of energy and thought that requires is something that slowly becomes a burden. It makes you appreciate the times when you simply KNEW the person/people you were living with and could be 100% yourself. My advice for anyone struggling with this is to communicate with your roommate and be one hundred percent yourself. I’ve learned already that despite wanting to appear cool or like somebody I’m not so they might enjoy being around me, I realized rather quickly that was pretty much idiotic. THEY LIVE WITH ME NOW. Of course they’ll have to see the real me. At one point or another. So save yourself a ton of trouble and try not to impress them or be somebody you’re not. Also, communicate with them about pretty much everything, because you will disagree with them about something, and if neither of you say anything, then it’ll just rage deep inside until one of you bursts. That would not be pretty, let me tell you.

2.) Enjoy the friends you grew up with.

The friends in your hometown are people that know everything about you. My three best friends in the entire world have known me since sixth grade, and they know pretty much every tiny little thing about me. This ISN’T a bad thing. It means they know me just as well, if not better, than I know myself. They know your parents, your family, what you did in high school, they know your potential, your mistakes and problems, and love you anyways. Going to college, it’s essentially starting all over. Nothing from your past really matters. Nobody knows what you did in high school. Very few people see your potential. Nobody knows the tiny things you love, or the weird little things that you do. You’re completely unknown. It’s so easy, comfortable, and relaxing to be with your friends who understand how you function. They know that sometimes you need to be away from everything, and that you love spontaneous hangouts at Taco Bell. Or that you need adventures into the woods in your life, or that you need to hangout with them and do absolutely nothing besides just being with them. You can hangout with them whenever and wherever without ever worrying about them judging you or not understanding why you do the things you do. For me, the amount of pressure I feel trying to get other people to understand this without taking four years of my life is terrifying, exhausting, incredibly uncomfortable and a bit depressing. As someone who might as well have an anxiety disorder, the amount of worries that go through my head every time I try to make new friends is slightly miserable. I’ve personally found that my friends from my hometown are incredibly special and unique. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever find people quite like them anywhere else. So, enjoy the time you have with them while you can.

3.) Enjoy not having to pay for classes or housing or pretty much anything.

You know that ATM machine you call your parents? Yeah. They won’t always be there. Pretty self-explanatory. I’d also encourage you to save up if you have a job. This can’t be overstated, and is incredibly important. And for those seniors, find scholarships, as many as possible. They’ll get you places.

4.) Enjoy your hometown and discover it fully.

Moving to a new place is exciting and wonderful. Everything is new and fresh and there’s so much to see that you haven’t seen before. I love being new places and seeing new things. But let me tell you. When you first get to a new city, new place, a new home, everything feels slightly foreign to you. You have to rediscover everything. Which is exciting and wonderful, but it requires effort and can be a bit daunting. Your hometown, by the time you leave, if you’ve lived there your whole life like I did, is fully uncovered. If it hasn’t been completely discovered and uncovered, I HIGHLY encourage you to do so. Find every nook and cranny that might have some possibility of being interesting. I highly encourage you to make sure there’s not a single spot undiscovered in your hometown before you leave. There’s something amazing about knowing what’s around every corner and down every street. You know all the secret spots that no one else knows. Places that no one else would even think about visiting, but mean the world to you. There’s also the small shops and family owned businesses that only natives from your area know of. These places are special, and just aren’t the same if you didn’t grow up there. Make memories in these places. Find someplace completely isolated but comfortable. Where you can just be you with your thoughts. I can list at least three of these places that I found in my hometown. Every time I go back, I’m going to want to visit them. In a new town, these secret places are lost and deeply hidden behind the buildings, signs, and lights. It’s hard to find the secret spots when you have no idea where to start.

5.) Enjoy being a kid.

College is a kicker right in the adulthood pants. In other words, it’s really hard to do all the things you could do as a kid when you’re in college. Between classes, a job, getting time and money for food and cleaning up after yourself, it becomes significantly harder to find time to wander around outside. The free time you have as a kid, (yes that includes high-schoolers, don’t be so anxious to be old you whipper-snappers.) just doesn’t exist when you get into college. You find yourself getting stacked with paperwork, homework, and decisions. So please, please, take advantage of your time as a kid with few responsibilities and worries. Obviously, this changes from person to person, but overall, the amount of responsibilities are significantly less. So get together with your friends and learn their ins and outs. Go explore your town, just go walk in a random direction and find a special spot. Goof off and mess around with your friends. Enjoy life some. Don’t be stupid, be considerate of others in all things, but don’t try to have a mask over your life all of you adolescence. It’s miserable. Mess with people when it’s harmless, and help them realize that they need to relax and enjoy life a little bit too. If you’re uncomfortable with something, or hate doing something, but everyone else is doing it and so you feel obligated to do it even though you know it’s a bad for you, or bad for other people, DON’T DO IT. Explain yourself, and just walk away. Don’t worry about trying to be “the popular kid”. Just be the kid who loves life and people. Simple as that.

 

That was a lot to read, so congratulations. I hope you learned something, maybe about yourself, maybe about, or at least about me. Take all of this with a grain of salt, but make the most of the time given to you. All that being said, I’m going to try and find some quiet, lovely introvert spots around my new town.

 

Starting a new Chapter,

Josiah Serravalle.

Senior Day (And Senioritis)

It’s been awhile. Anyways, for my high school, graduation is right around the corner. (Literally, it’s tomorrow.) And though I’m a junior, and not graduating, I’m becoming a senior. Which means it’ll be my last year as a high school student. Kind of a crazy thought. Now, you might be wondering what all that has to do with anything. Well, this senior class has been my favorite classes, and the class I’ve grown the closest to out of all my years at school. So, I’ve dedicated this post to listing each one of them and listing off someway they’re special or have impacted me. Some I know better than others, but all together they really sort of made me into the person I am today. The school I attend is extremely small in comparison to most schools, so the reason I can list all the seniors, is because we have a small number in the class (Though, it’s a large class for our standards). Anyways, enough explaining, onto the people.

Jessica, I know that you are for sure not disappearing on me anytime soon, but still. You’re one of my best friends ever, and we’ve both gone through a lot with the other around to help. All your random hilariousness will never be matched or forgotten. I know I’ll always be able to be myself, and be crazy and just laugh away life with you around. Thank you so much for being able to support me in the little things. It means more than you might think. No matter what happens, I’ll always remember you, and you better freakin’ keep in contact ya freakin’ goon. Keep doing amazing things for Christ, He’ll take you to some crazy but wonderful places. Don’t stop being yourself and being able to laugh. Also, don’t stop eating. There’s so much food to eat. Italian life for life.

Danny, I remember the first day you came to school, and when I heard you were a writer. I got pretty excited, and when I found out how awesome you were too, that just made me happier. Keep writing, being awesome, and making crazy jokes. Always keep seeking out your dreams, and don’t grow old. Also, don’t be afraid to share your stories with the world. You’re awesome man.

Ana, it’s great to know someone else shares my love for all things Doctor Who and Sherlock. Also, your snarky comments and love for writing (stories), are greatly appreciated. Keep writing and..commenting? Don’t stop being yourself and loving the things you love. It’s awesome.

Braton, you’re a punk man. But in a good way. Love you dude. You’ve helped me find a love for others that I didn’t have before. You’re enthusiasm and love for pretty much everything is brilliant and has impacted me more than you know. Even though your hugs and bites are kinda really weird, it’s all good. Keep being confident, bold and loving on people with all you got for Christ. It’s going to impact people.

Adam, keep encouraging people and being funny. It’s some really good dang traits that have made my days a lot better. Also, keep singing dude. You have a fantastic voice, don’t be afraid to let others hear it. Be confident in what you want to do and do something awesome out there. It was awesome having you as a member on the baseball team, keep it real. Is that still a normal saying? I don’t even know.

Jack, keep leading and putting yourself out there. You’ve definitely impacted me in the way you’re willing to defend what you believe or think is right, no matter what it is. Even if it’s which way to put on a belt. You’re confidence is great, and you definitely are gonna be a great leader out there. Keep being a genius and doing what you’re called to do. Lead people towards Christ with your attitude, confidence and love.

Nathan, you’ve made some of my days bearable simply by stating in your tone of voice how unbearable some days are. You’re humor and attitude towards people is absolutely hilarious and it brightens my day all the time. High school definitely won’t be the same without you there to make sarcastic conversation with. Also, you’re a phenomenal singer, and are the backbone to the tenors. It’ll be really tough without you. Anyways, it’s been great to be able to hang out some more as the school year ends. Don’t lose that humor ever, and don’t forget that sometimes us weirdos don’t have it all together, but we still love you, and you’re a part of the family. If that makes any sense. You get the point.

David, you’re pretty much a boss. You’re strange philosophical random points that don’t always make sense have always baffled and confused me. Which is good in a way. You make sure you think the thoughts no one else does. Your hard work can be seen by your dedication to sports like football and yet still being super interested in things like robotics and scouts and doing good in school.  That kind of hard work is brilliant, so don’t lose it. You’ll go some pretty sweet places.

Daniel F., It’s the Freeman! Anyways, Daniel, it’s been great to have you next to my math class at SF. I’ve greatly appreciated our random small rants there about school, life, and your sweet bow. Your creations in drawings and movies are phenomenal, I for sure look forward to seeing some of your stuff in the days to come. You have some awesome imagination, and so be sure to never waste it. It’s wonderful, and I wish I had that much imagination. Use that gift wisely, I’m sure you will. You’re awesome.

Daniel B., Oohhhh Daniel.  Dan the Man, despite not being able to get to know you very well, since you often keep to yourself, you’re pretty much a genius. And keeping to yourself isn’t a bad thing either, it’s kind of better to be that way than in everyone’s face. Anyways, your quips are hilarious, and you’re also pretty much a genius. You’re goin’ places kid. Don’t forget it.

Taylor A., You’re pretty much the coolest kid. It was always nice and comforting to me to know that I wasn’t the only one who was generally quiet. (Though I sort of stopped being generally quiet, that’s my Italian genes there.) You can always make an atmosphere seem calm and cool, and it was an honor to be able to talk to you occasionally. Also, you’re Batman, so there’s not much else to say there. Keep saving people’s lives.

Clint, Oh my word. Clint, you’ve easily been one of the most influential people in my life at high school these past couple of years. It’s hard for me to even describe it. The way you handle music, life, relationships with people, and how you’re able to just have Christ’s love shine through you is something amazing. God is going to use you in ways we can only imagine man.  Your voice and talents are an amazing gift that I wish I had like you do. It’s going to be really hard to see you leave, but I know it’ll be great for those that you’re going to be with. I’m going to miss you man. You’ll do great.

Jamison, mister president. Honestly, I’ve always sort of thought you were a punk. But I’ve realized throughout the years that you’re much more than that. You’re a leader, who can be responsible and is confident in everything he does. You’ve taught me that no matter how serious and important something is, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, or that you can’t make some crazy joke. Despite almost always having something to say, you take responsibility for your actions and it’s impactful. You led the baseball team well, and the senior class. Keep having fun and leading man. You’re pretty legit.

Kameron, Oh Kam. You’re the reason I started to play baseball, and though it was a lot of work, I’m glad you got me into it. It was a lot of fun, and I made tons of memories for it. So thank you. Also, you’re awesome and always up for a laugh. Keep being a fantastic friend to everyone you meet, and loving those around you. Though you might not always think you’re leading, you certainly are. So keep leading those under you by your example and attitude.

Jenny, I hardly know you at all, but that’s probably mostly my fault for being a bit of a recluse. However, I know that you’re always joyful and ready with a smile on your face. It seems like you’re always open for encouraging people and that your joy and laughter is really contagious. Don’t ever stop smiling and looking at the good things in life. We all need some really good optimism in our lives.

Taylor H, I also don’t really know you that well. Which I feel kind of bad about, since my brother knew you decently well. Again, that’s just me being a recluse. Anyways, you’re always open to crazy jokes and just having fun. Your laughter is contagious and great. All I gotta say is; keep being a zebra. Nobody will hunt you down. I promise. I think.

Ben, even though you probably won’t read this, you’re hilarious and talented. It might seem like everyone else around you is a bit crazy, (we kind of are, but that’s besides the point), but you’re able to put some sense into things and still make the simplest things hilarious. Keep being yourself and don’t worry about what others think. Keep using that mind of yours and the imagination you’ve been given. You got this Ben.

Sarah, I never really got a chance to tell you, but I really love horses. Yeah. Used to ride them when I got a chance at my parents’ friend’s house, and went trail riding some with my family friend. And though I don’t know nearly as much as you do about them, I know they’re phenomenal. I also wish I got to know you a bit better, but I know that you’re full of plenty of talent and that you’ll succeed at pretty much whatever you want to do. I’d definitely trust you with my horses if I had any. You can also handle those techies like no one else. You’re going to do great out there.

Ellie, you’re fantastic. Your little encouragements and bursts of happiness are phenomenal and uplifting like you wouldn’t believe. Keep being yourself, and I really appreciate your comments, especially when in a car while I’m being antisocial. There’s nothing quite like your smile and love for everyone you meet. It’s outstanding and impacting. Always love others like you do, and just displaying Christ’s love for everyone so openly. It’s a wonderful gift and trait to have. The people out there need you to share it.

Jake, you’re a goon. But a good goon. You have a really friendly sort of attitude, and you’re always up for joking around. Not to mention you’re a phenomenal athlete, and you can for sure go some crazy awesome places using that athleticism. You’ll be great out there. Keep having fun and being willing to help others out.

Timothy, you’ve changed a lot over the years. But it’s been a good change. You’ve been given a plethora of gifts, like your voice and academic excellence, and I know they’ll be put to good use. You got a head on your shoulders, but you’re also able to enjoy the little things, have a sense of humor, and be up for having fun. Keep singing, playing Starcraft II, and bothering Nathan’s life as much as you can. Mwhaha. It’s been great to have you as part of the “geek squad” here, if you can call it that. It won’t be the same without you.

Sean, I also didn’t really get to know you very well, besides the few times I got to eat lunch with you guys. I can tell though that you’re excellent at planning and leading events. You’ve got plenty of good ideas that are sure to come to the light some day. At the same time, you’re hilarious and you and your brother are kind of even more hilarious together.

Andrew, it’s been fantastic to get to know you more this school year. I can’t believe it took me this long to see how awesome you are. Our game conversations and news conversations in Economics and Government kept me awake and actually interested in things that early in the morning. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled that class without you. You’re not only smart, but you’ve got wisdom, and that’s even more important. Not to mention you have a dedication for things that I only wish I had. Together, those two traits are going to take you great places. You’re awesome, I’m glad I got to know you, and it won’t be the same here without you. Also, dirty white boyz all the way. (That’s a sort of inside joke. In case you couldn’t tell.)

Christian, though I didn’t really get to know you very well, you seem like a guy that really is set on chasing after his dream. And that’s encouraging. Keep chasing that dream. Also, your always up for a joke and saying something unexpected. Don’t worry about those trying to crush your dream. Keep loving people and being a pretty cool dude.

Pheeewww. That’s a lot. But that’s everyone. If you expected more, I’m sorry, I’m kind of tired, so I started to trail off there for a bit. Anyways, as I finish this, I realize I’m going to soon be a senior like these students. And it’ll be phenomenal, terrifying, wonderful, depressing, but overall an experience I won’t ever forget. And for that, I’m looking forward to it. It’s a shame I won’t get to share it with these students that are leaving, but that just means there will be new people for me to reach out to and have impact my life. I’m looking forward to it. However, even today I’m finding myself with terrible senioritis. It’s going to be a long year.

 

With Honesty and Sincerity,

Josiah Serravalle.