There’s nothing worse than running into an extrovert in the laundry room. Trapped alongside your clothes and counting down the seconds of your 45-minute cycle, introverts stuck in the laundromat with a chatty Kathy are faced with a perturbing predicament. Do you feign illness to ward them away? Or must you roll the dice on their international knowledge and pretend you don’t speak English? 

Introverts are faced with this conundrum on a daily basis. How do you maintain your sanity, protect your peace, and enjoy the solitude of your safe space at home, while avoiding the chatters, running your errands, and doing your job like a functioning adult? The query has many different answers and to each introvert their own, but when it comes to the artistry of conversational avoidance, there’s nobody with more experience than an antisocial. 

So if you’re avoiding eye contact with your neighbors in the laundry room or if you’re simply trying not to run into anyone from high school at the grocery store, you’re not alone—as I’m sure you can feel by the prickling eyeballs at the back of your neck from the woman who looks like she wants to comment on how nice the weather has been this week.