Basilio, Alyssa Bernadette A.

SEC-69 BK4: #OvercomingShyness

Shyness that is part of one’s personality can start in childhood and continue into the college
years. How does shyness affect your dealings with your university classmates? Cite specific
instances when your shyness affected your interpersonal or group interactions, or specific
experiences you had to overcome your shyness.

Before I start with my essay, I just want to clarify that these are my own experiences
since I consider myself an introvert and that I can relate well to this topic. I firmly believe that
extreme shyness can make conversing with students or professors difficult — and perhaps
impossible. Because excessive shyness makes it difficult to socialize, it can harm a person's self-
esteem and confidence It might also make it harder for someone to benefit from changes or try
new things. Social phobia, an anxiety disorder, is usually accompanied by extreme shyness. To
overcome excessive shyness, people with social phobia may require the assistance of a therapist.
I also believe that shyness is associated with loneliness; wherein it is seen as a bad emotional
state that happens when an individual's expectations for the quality and quantity of social
connections deviate considerably from the reality. These are some of the reasons why I distance
myself from other people, but it hurts me more when people only talk to me whenever they need
something from me and then they’ll ditch me afterward. Since I’m used to this feeling, it has
been normal for me even though it isn’t for others.
My shyness has affected me so much even before I started college, it has held me back a
lot during my elementary and high school years. Everything changed pretty much when I started
in Senior High school and college; and to be honest, it was even a lot harder for me during my
college years. It was hard for me to approach my classmates since I am usually the quiet one and
seemed to know everything to ask other people help or to ask them questions; instead of asking
them, I would wait until someone from my class ask them the same question and just kind of
eavesdrop to their conversation since I’m too afraid to talk to them. I’ve had a lot of encounters
whenever my shyness has affected my interpersonal or group interactions, and I have regretted
those times because it hinders me to learn or expanding my knowledge by asking other people
for help or information. I think one of the most memorable experiences I had that my shyness
affected me was when there was an upcoming test in our major subject and I don’t know how to
solve some of the questions that can help us in our upcoming exam. Instead of asking my
classmates, I tried to learn the modules and powerpoints by myself but in the end, I got nothing
from my hard work. There are some instances in our lives that we need to step out of our comfort
zone to help ourselves in the process. I hope that this will serve as a lesson not only to myself but
also to my fellow tamaraws who are struggling to get out of their comfort zone. It’s not too late
for us to try to change our shy selves; we can still change and make a better version of ourselves!