I is for Introverts !

I have been bestowed with many compliments by people who don’t know me too well. I have been labeled as shy, reclusive (well this one is not too incorrect!!), haughty and arrogant.

The truth is I am just an Introvert! And we Introverts are such a misunderstood lot! Introverts take a lot of time to open up and be comfortable with people, and till then we prefer to speak and interact as little as possible.And so we are misunderstood as being arrogant !
It is not as if we don’t like people. Off course we like people – from a distance!

Frankly we just prefer not to surround ourselves with all sorts. We are extremely selective about whom we want to associate with. An Introvert will always have a few close friends she is extremely loyal to rather than have a whole bunch of friends and acquaintances. We are intensely private people. We don’t like to share our feelings and emotions with everybody.

And it’s not as if we don’t like to talk at all. Off course we do! The truth is that we suck at small talk! Conversations about trivial things simply don’t interest us. Put us in a social gathering and ask us to make conversation and we fail miserably. Give us 1-2 people who share the same interests as us and look how voluble we get!

In social gatherings unless I know the people very well I will be the one speaking the least. People who speak too much actually irritate me and I generally remove myself from the surroundings as soon as possible.

We also hate getting noticed. We prefer to do things quietly in the background rather than try to be in the limelight.

Introverts live more in their inner world than the outer world. We like being with our own thoughts. I tend to feel drained and tired if I have been in the company of others for long. I then usually wander off on my own to get my few hours or even minutes of solitude. If that is not possible, I try to retreat inside and block out the others.Some people get recharged by being with others. We get recharged by being alone and by turning our thoughts inwards.

People don’t seem to understand how I can like being alone. But there is a very big difference in being lonely and being alone. I cherish my alone time. I can spend hours in solitude, reading, writing, dreaming or just watching the world whizz past. I love travelling solo, alone with my thoughts, soaking in the surroundings, exploring and doing things my own way!

We Introverts don’t have much use for words. Not for the spoken ones anyway. All our feelings and emotions come out though the written words. We are not too good about expressing ourselves verbally and sometimes that is not a very god thing !

It’s becoming more and more difficult for introverts to survive in today’s world. In these days of social media and instant friendships, we tend to feel a little lost. Having few friends is what is just not acceptable these days.

Over the past few years I have made an effort to be more vocal and expressive, especially over the social media. People who know me online tell me that I am a different person when they see me in person because I tend to me more reserved and shy when I am meeting someone for the first time, even if I know that person online!

I love being an introvert, this is the way I am and this is the way I feel the most comfortable. But over the years I have actually made a little effort to be more social. If I may borrow the words of Shail Mohan of Shail’s Nest  - I am now an “Introvert in the garb of an Extrovert!”

I don’t think I could have put it more succinctly than that!