Introvert: (n) A person who is energized by spending time alone. While introverts are not necessarily shy, they often have quirks that make them unique, especially in relationships. Despite this, it is actually fairly common for introverts to date extroverts. If you find yourself in this situation, take note of these thoughts from an introvert who's dating an extrovert.
1. We suck at flirting.
Somehow the "flirting" gene skipped us. Our form of flirting is looking at you for an awkwardly long time, and then when you make eye contact, we frantically look away but hope you somehow realize that we're totally in love with you. Because actually flirting involves revealing our feelings, and we're not about that.
2. We can be awkward at first
Basically, first dates are the worst. We really are interested in you and can hold a good conversation, but being put on the spot to make small talk... not really our strong suit. Just try to see through our stumbling small talk and realize that the more comfortable we become around you, the better it gets.
3. Meeting your friends and family is straight out of our nightmares.
Meeting people for the sole purpose of them judging us? We know, we know, you're sure they'll love us and they're not trying to judge, but it's still terrifying. Just remind us that we are capable of maintaining a conversation and you love us no matter what.
4. We need time to ourselves, but that doesn't mean we don't like you.
This is a big one. Again, an introvert is someone who gets energy from being alone. We love you and want to spend time with you–just not constantly. Sometimes we need to take a break, read a book or watch Netflix and relax by ourselves. Even if we haven't spent time with you that day, if we've been around a lot of people, we may still need at least a short break. Don't take this personally. We still love you; we just need some time to ourselves.
5. When we meet new people, we will rely heavily on you for support.
Just because we can be shy doesn't mean we don't want to make new friends. We might just need a nudge. When we go into active social situations, we will probably follow your cue for talking to people and leading the conversation. Just pay attention to our subtle signs that we're in need of some solitude before we get pushed too far.
6. We notice small things and want you to notice, too.
A common sign of introverts is paying attention to details. That doesn't necessarily mean we are super-organized, "detail-oriented" people, but that we notice the little things, like chipmunks hiding in a bush or an oddly-shaped cloud. Not only do we get excited about weird things like that, but we want you to get excited too. It makes us feel validated, and more than that, it's our strange way of saying that we care about you, because we want you to also enjoy the way the pattern on the wallpaper totally looks like a panda.
7. Talking one-on-one is important to us.
We do love you and want to spend time with you. We especially want to spend that time talking with you and getting to know you even more. Yes, we may know the basics, but we feel most connected to you when we talk—about our childhoods, our goals, current events, anything, really. A companionable quiet is appreciated as well but never underestimate how much we love talking one-on-one.
