The Introvert Myth
Before I dive in, guys did you know yesterday my blog officially turned 7 years old? ok ok I might or might not have disappeared here and there for a year or two….but who is keeping track right? From day one the topics have definitely changed and grown with me, but the bottom line remains the same: I need to sarcastically blurt out what floods my brain or my brain might just explode! ok now that that’s out the way….today’s topic.
HI, my name is Abiola and I am an introvert. But sheesh according to the internet, I’m basically a highly functional vampire: I don’t want to hang with people, I have a mean look on my face, I don’t like talking, I always feel misunderstood and the list goes on and on….and don’t let me get started on the fact that I am also a scorpio….but that’s another topic.
My introversion is not a death sentence on all human interactions…ok maybe just for some! So here is how I see this going, today I’ll make my list of 5 things you should know about being an introvert as seen by one!
We hate big crowds: the problem with thinking that all introverts just can’t function in groups is that it’s not entirely true. If we are in a group made up by people we actually care about and interact with, we tend to be actually pretty social, only difference is that too much group interaction is the equivalent to being on every app on your phone,at the same time for 10 hours straight: you run out of battery and need to go and recharge it.
We are inherently quiet: If you ask my parents, or my friends they will gladly tell you that shutting up isn’t one of my best traits…BUT only when there is actually something to talk about ( and no external audience). Introverts love to talk, we just can’t stand empty pointless small talk. Like I truly don’t care about how the weather was yesterday when I don’t even know your name today…that just pretty much warrants a headache. “Why are you so quiet?”–” I have NOTHING useful to say” (This exchange actually really happened)
We are bad Uber Drivers: I don’t know if people actually think this, lol but since I have driven a Uber a few times I realized that I can, in fact, partake in small talk….the only problem is that after the 3rd maybe 4th “how are you?how has your day been?where are you from?” I feel like what I imagine it feels to be an orange squeezed to the pulp and need a whole week or two before re-adventuring in the Uber streets. Basically making the Uber thing everything but profitable for me.
We are mean and stuck up: This to me sounds more like a personal problem. Loud outspoken people tend to think that everyone should match their energy, well dear loud happy go lucky person, the louder you get the more “stuck up” I’ll end up looking because you just make me want to crawl in a corner with silencing headphones and think about the next book I’ll read or what my close friends and I will be doing on our next awesome trip. Yes, others energy is highly draining, especially if it’s too much of it, with no real intent to it. So no we are not mean, you just sucked the soul out of us!
We are loaners: Well…YES, J’adore my alone time, the time where I can listen to music, paint, read a book and not be interrupted, but that doesn’t mean that I want to be lonely. Whaaaatttt????? I know right? mind blowing!! We feed off of energy, well at least I know I do, so having the right aura around me is very much a need. Quiet time in the company of someone who I care for is probably my definition of heaven on earth. “Let’s be alone together”.YES PLEASE!!
Ok, I think that covers some of the things a lot of the “normals” of the world seem to not quite understand about an introvert, hope that helped you understand that we don’t hate you, we just probably don’t like you enough to want to deal with you!:)
Ciao for now,
Be art
Aby
