Someone on facebook recently posted this article about introverts. I found it so interesting and quite hilarious.

I'm an introvert. Always have been (I used to think I was just a homebody because I didn't like going anywhere on Friday nights) and always will be. I'm ok with it, until I feel judged by others because I'm not the vibrant, outgoing girl that people expect (why is it that women are always expected to be bubbly and over-talkative? I read that in general, men don't know how to respond to introverted women). Depending on the company, of course, I can be very talkative and loud, but only with those I'm very comfortable with (i.e. family and close friends).

Wanna know what I do on an average evening? Hang out at my house-- read, write (it's why I enjoy blogging so much), watch a movie, or maybe take a nap. There was awhile where I thought this was becoming a problem. What is wrong with me that I don't want to go to a party, or a gathering of the young adults at my church? It isn't anything personal against anyone. I simply feel drained when I have to attend these functions. I'm not saying I shouldn't make an effort, but I do believe that people have little understanding of us introverts (we are, after all, a minority). Because most people tend to be extroverted, we think there is something wrong when we aren't.

Misconceptions about introverts: shy, boring, snobby, aloof, emotionally disconnected, loner, need I go on? I also recently read an article about how every time there is a mass murder, one of the first things that is reported on that person is that he/she was a "loner," or "quiet," (which they usually are, but with actual psychosis and antisocial or schizoid leanings) leading to the misconception that there is something pathologically wrong with people who enjoy solitude. I'll never forget a lady that came through my line at Publix after the Virginia Tech shooting and said, "I always am wary of quiet people." Really?

If you are an extrovert, please don't be quick in your judgment of people who may not be as outgoing as you, or who may seem a little awkward in social settings, or decline a party on a Friday night. To extroverts, my even making a big deal out of introversion probably seems weird, but I promise you we are very misunderstood. If you think about it, a lot of the social expectations are laid out by the extroverts, who typically run the show. So even if I'm not saying a lot, I'm always tuned in to what is going on around me, and do have something to contribute-- I just can't always get a word in edgewise among the non-stop banter. ;)