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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Joel Golby, Lucy Mangan and Rhik Samadder

How to party if you’re shy, socially awkward – or just plain boring

Paul C Brunson McDonald
Illustration of a busy room with people drinking and chatting, and a woman standing outside by the front door on her own with a drink in her hand
Just as you wouldn’t force extroverts to refuse invitations and stay in, introverts should not be required to go out. Illustration: Nishant Choksi/The Guardian

The partyphobe: Lucy Mangan

Fanny Brice was right. People who need people are the luckiest people, at least when party season rolls around. Imagine, if you will, wanting to go to a party. Imagine knowing that you will have a good time – that the mere experience of being around people fills you, as a matter of course, with joy and contentment. That you go home with a spring in your step, a song in your heart, a smile on your lips – refreshed, restored, rejuvenated and ready for the next one.

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