Amanda Bundy is a teacher of Honors US History, Comparative Government, US Government and a freshman advisor. She joined the Academy community in 2015.
As I made my way to my car at the end of the first day of school, all I could think about was being alone. Blissfully, quietly alone. From start to finish, the first day back in the Upper School had been fun and exciting – breakfast in the new dining hall, meeting my new advisory students, team building exercises during Unity Day, catching up with senior students beginning their final year at Academy. I had enjoyed every minute, but somehow I couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to get away from all of the hustle and bustle. I have these feelings when in the course of a busy day. There’s little chance to catch my breath. I used to be embarrassed by these feelings, that I was in some way escaping from all of the fun and excitement in the world. I have been known to forgo a party to stay home with a book, and I hated sleeping over at friends’ houses when I was a kid. I can’t stand small talk, but relish long conversations with those I love. I’ve come to accept the truth: I’m an introvert.
Introversion isn’t about being quiet or shy, although some introverts also share those characteristics. Introverts are social, but need time for reflection and introspection. They often share deep bonds with a few close friends, but feel anxious about meeting new people. By contrast, social exchanges fuel extroverts who choose to surround themselves with other people as much as possible. Our culture holds extroversion as the ideal, and the busyness of modern life often makes it difficult to eke out a room of one’s own.
This summer, I spent many hours in isolation revising my Ph.D. dissertation. Not exactly the carefree summer I had envisioned, but I was able to reexamine and refine my argument in ways that have improved the project immensely. I worked in physical isolation, but I really wasn’t alone. I was tying together the threads of many ideas argued by historians in the past.
After spending much of the summer engrossed in ideas rather than people, the start of school was a shock to the system. However, despite my tendency toward introversion, I found the beginning of this school year to be an easier transition than last. I was welcomed at Academy last year, so coming back felt like coming home. In my mind, and in the minds of many others, Academy is an extension of our homes: a community with a shared set of values that we seek to uphold. Whether you are an introvert looking for peace and quiet, or an extrovert seeking the social outlet you need, you can find it here. Our new spaces have spread light into dark corners and transformed our daily experience, but the community we share it with has remained constant. And that is something to celebrate.
Photo by Julia Gurevitz’19
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This work is the first in a series of faculty and staff columns that The Academy Life will run this year.
These columns will be on topics of the authors’ choosing. Faculty and staff interested in writing a column should contact Chiru Gunawardena in person or at gunawardenac17@columbusacademy.org
