Dear Introvert:
You matter. Your needs matter, and you should never have to apologize to anyone for being the way you are.
I kinda figured it'd be good if I got the driving point of this letter established and out of the way early. You see, the lousy fact of it is that it will always feel like there are more extroverts than introverts around you at any given time in your life. That's just how it is--extroverts will always have the greater presence in the room from their base nature. They thrive on connecting with a lot of different people openly, vocally, and often. They recharge through activity with others and open engagement. They tend to feel lonely and incomplete when they're not with friends, and are always looking forward to that next interaction.
You are not like that--and it is perfectly good and ok.
Your brain just is wired differently. You don't recharge with other people--you recharge with just yourself. You don't feel a driving need to make your presence known in the room, because you would much rather make a closer, more intimate connection with just one, or two, or three people at a time. You tend to wait for other people to initiate conversation or contact--which can be a problem for us introverts, since it takes a lot of courage for one of us to get up the nerve to be the first to start talking about something. But once one of us does, it's an incredible connection--one that can last for a lifetime.
You can have incredible friendships with extroverts too--it just might take a little bit of getting used to. This right here is one of the best ways I've ever seen it described, personally.
This is just one example, and it definitely isn't the case all the time. It's still funny, though. Here's another really good one, because both introverts and extroverts get mislabeled and misunderstood a lot of the time.
No introvert or extrovert is quite like this, and yet, this is just one of the common stereotypes. However, you as an introvert can easily find yourself being hurt by extrovert friends. It's harder for them to understand that sometimes, you just don't need to be around people to be happy or to feel at peace. That's so backwards to them, and so they may try to have you around as much as possible. Even though it runs against your nature, it's ok to tell them that you just need to be on your own from time to time. You have that right--and if they are truly friends with you, and want the best for you, they will come to understand that. If they can't, it's their problem--not yours. Never yours. I'm not saying it's ok to be rude in finding your alone time, but neither is it ok for you to sacrifice your mental and emotional health just to keep your extrovert friends happy. Like I said before--you matter, and so do your feelings and needs. And as I end this, let me say one more time:
Never apologize for being who you are, because who you are is beautiful, unique, and deep in ways that people--and you--have yet to find out.
