It is interesting to me that so many people declare their Introversion so publicly now. It's as if suddenly there is a "cool factor" associated with being an Introvert.
Perhaps I have been blind to the fact that some deep sense of embarrasment or secrecy was required of me because most of the time I strive to pretend that small talk is something that I really want to do. I should have, all this time, been feeling shame because I would rather stay home and take a nice long bath than go to a spa and have some stranger pop my blackheads so I can achieve the perfect balance of skin smoothness and nose shiny-ness or lack thereof. Ah, I see. I was suffering and Facebook's deeply educational declaration of what it means to be "Introverted Like Me" is elevating me to a whole new world where I am now trendy. I am now like all of those people who intentionally wear mismatched socks and have an owl iPhone cover. Or maybe that was last week. Whatever
Thank you Facebook and the parade of "You know you are an introvert when..." posts. I wasn't so sure that my lack of interest in speaking to anyone after I had spent the whole day at work interacting with half of humanity was actually okay. Now I know that there are more people like me out there I feel so much better.
Yes, I have read these posts. Heck I even took one of the obnoxious, overposted things once. "If you score 20 or more on this you are probably an introvert..." My score, perfect, yep...absolutely perfect 37/37. The wonderful husband actually joked over my shoulder before I got to the end, "Why are you even bothering, you could have written the test yourself?"
If you are reading this and you know me, you will know that I am an Introvert with all of the letters capitalized. That doesn't mean I don't venture outside. I know the difference between a phobia and a temperament trait. The thing is, I am not sure most people do.
Being Introverted is about how I relate to the world, not what I choose to do in it. I speak to people. I have even been known to be assertive. I would like to think that I will argue when necessary and speak up when it is important that I do so. That doesn't flip me into Extrovert territory. I volunteer. I have friends. I answer the phone (mostly).
What truly fascinates me is why anyone would believe that being Introverted is something that needs to be explained. Explaining it in a manner that seems to suggest that it requires being defended as being "Not A Bad Thing to Be."
I really don't care if you disagree with my assessment of myself. I really don't care what you think of the fact that I am Introverted. I offer the anecdotes and examples not as "proof", rather as background.
I am not a scientific experiment. This is not math class. I don't need to prove anything...
I am, to paraphrase the Iron Giant, who I choose to be.
So yes, I am an Introvert. Big Deal. I am also 43, female and a bit peckish at the moment. Time to put the kettle on a brew a cuppa...
