Oi, That Didn't Go Well, Did It?

If somehow it has escaped notice thus far, I am a pretty serious geek, proud nerdfighter, deeply private, introverted, and nearly always choose books or the internet to socializing with people. Which is not to say I don't enjoy being around people; I do, provided the number of people is around five or fewer and those individuals are either intelligent or I am extremely hyper. Some people might hate spending as much time alone as I did over the winter holiday. I thrived and enjoyed it. 

People started returning en mass on Saturday, the rest coming on Sunday. Seeing all the cars and the sudden sharp decrease in parking availability were annoying, but not much more. Classes started yesterday, which thrilled me. I have been around people since they came back to campus. Today, though, I went to lunch and my mental composure fell more than a little bit apart. 

See, I do not like large crowds, I never have. That may seem odd from someone who enjoyed both public speaking and dancing in showcases. When a crowd is large and loud, I try to stay as far away as is reasonable. That was the cafeteria: large crowds of noisy, intense people. For someone as self conscious as I, that is not a good situation. 

Add to that that I caught site of a couple of people I am semi-avoiding based on the self consciousness and making a minor fool of myself near those people for the majority of last semester and  I vamoosed. My general feeling of panic actually did not subside when I had left the cafeteria. I made it back to my dorm room, realized that a mid-level panic attack set off a minor asthma attack, used my inhaler, and finally was able to talk to my roommate. I think it has been established that, if I go to lunch anymore, I'll be getting the eco-unfriendly "To Go" box and spending as little time as possible around all those people. 

Thank you to everyone who reads this; I hope you enjoy it. Special thanks to Russian readers!

Love,

-Genni