Hi, my name is Morgan and I'm an introvert.
Depending on how well you know me, you may or may not agree with this statement. Most people would believe me to be a total extrovert. I'm extremely outgoing and I can make friends with and open up to others quite easily. I love being the center of attention, whether that's being the subject of conversation or being the star on the stage, I just love the spotlight and I have ever since I was a child. I'm the girl who will wear a rainbow skirt on the cloudiest and gloomiest of days, without any hesitation. I'm the girl who can sing every line to every Disney song and I'm not afraid to do so at any given moment. My friends know me as quirky and bubbly and confident and crazy. I tell it like it is, whether it's about you or about me -- I don't hold anything back. That's just who I am. But, I'm also an introvert.
Over the years, introverts have inherited a stereotype that paints us all, in general, as shy and unsociable people. Extroverts think all introverts would rather hide from the world in a book, rather than socialize. While some of us actually would like to hide sometimes, many of us really enjoy getting to know people. Being shy and quiet isn't a necessary quality of being an introvert, and being loud, outgoing and sociable doesn't necessarily make someone an extrovert.
What many people don't realize is that there are lots of social, outgoing introverts that come across extroverted. Unless that person has been pushed to the point of reclusion, you may never realize that they actually function as an introvert.
For many years, I've described my condition of being introverted by using the image of a tank. My sociability would be the liquid in that tank and my tank doesn't last as long as other people expect it to. Because of this, I become "socially drained" after prolonged social interactions with people. Don't get me wrong -- I love holidays! I just don't love celebrating hours or days on end. I run out of energy and need to recharge.
This confuses people. "What's wrong with Morgan," they will say. The minute I become quiet and begin to withdraw, everyone suddenly becomes concerned. "She must be upset." But, I'm not upset. I'm just . . . drained. It's not that I don't like you. In fact, I really love you. I've just simply reached my limit and I'm ready to bounce out.
An introverted friend of mine explained it this way: extroverts gain energy from being around people, while introverts lose energy from being around people. I can only fully recharge after some good alone time and the longer I've spent being social, the longer I need to be alone to recharge. It's as simple as that.
I may act truly extroverted on a regular basis, but truth be told, I'm an introvert. And there are honestly quite a few introverts out there that function this same way. As introverts, we may surprise you by being extremely outgoing and social, but you can't take it personally when we need time to be alone and recharge. It's just how we function.
So, here's to you, my fellow extroverted introverts!
We may really confuse our friends and family, but once they get to know us, all is well. We break the stereotype and we challenge expectations, but above all, we just want everyone to know we do still love them and that there's nothing wrong with us. We are simply introverted and you probably didn't expect that.
