I want and enjoy all the things that an extrovert does. Hanging out with friends, going to dances, dating: it all sounds fun enough to me. I’d just prefer to do them with as few people as possible. It’s not that introverts don’t like people, we just favor listening to talking.

One of the obvious boons of being an introvert is having time to complete all your responsibilities. I finish most of my homework on time and have time to spare for extra credit, I can watch all the movies in my Netflix queue, and because my social life is reserved to weekends or periods of not existing, I can dedicate my time to self-betterment.

Sure, I have friends, and I love them dearly, but that doesn’t make me any more inclined to invite them over to my house or to some other activity. I love hanging out and being invited to things, but social interaction is draining, and there’s something to be said for recharging and loving each other from afar.

High school is an extremely social setting, which can feel alienating when you have no desire to commiserate with your fellow homies. I mean, I talk more to myself than I do to other people, so when I get home at the end of the day, my first thought isn’t to pick up the phone and be even more social. How do you even find so much to talk about?

Besides, being alone can be kind of rad. I don’t need to put on makeup to watch Netflix. Tumblr won’t judge my compulsive swearing. If I want to drink unspeakable amounts of grape soda and wear a snuggie all afternoon, then no one can stop me. Yeah, dating is cool, but have you ever eaten an entire pepperoni-black-olive-alfredo-sauce pizza by yourself? Listened to the entire discography of Destiny’s Child in one sitting? Leveled up twenty times in Skyrim in a matter of a few hours? I did all those things last weekend. It was glorious.

It’s not that dating is necessarily difficult as an introvert. We aren’t hermits. We do leave the house and have fun. Since most significant others would prefer spending time doing things together (the heathens) to further the relationship, introverts do have to set aside some quality time for dating.

So I’ll concede. Extroverts may have more “fun” than we introverts, but that’s all in what your definition of fun is. If your idea of fun is throwing parties with large groups of friends and hanging out, then more power to you. I’ll just be here in my blanket fort playing music on my laptop… having the time of my life.