Recently, the topic of introversion and extroversion has been extremely popular in the social media world. There are all sorts of different articles and comics teaching people about what it means, exactly, to be an introvert or what it means to be an extrovert. I am here to advocate for those of us who are stuck in the middle of the two. We are what one would call an ambivert. We are the half-blooded princes (and princesses) of the "vert" world.
I'm not sure if you could say we're like Hannah Montana because I'm not sure that we always get the best of both worlds. If not well-balanced, being an ambivert can be difficult, but it can also mean that we are more flexible people (in the sense of personality and not being a gymnast). The most difficult part about being an ambivert is what makes one an ambivert in the first place, balance. Finding balance can be a ridiculous challenge, especially for someone as clumsy as myself.
We are always trying to curate a new way to balance both sides of our personality. I immensely enjoy going places such as concerts or amusement parks equally as much as I like going to something more low key like a coffee shop and having one-on-one quality time, but I also need time to myself. Ambiverts are the “it depends” type of people. Being around people can either be great or totally miserable, it depends. I love people; I have a lot of extroverted qualities, but I also need time to think and be by myself. College has been a huge battle for me between needing to have space of my own and wanting to adventure with friends, but being drained because I am constantly surrounded by others. Being an ambivert can also be great because it tends to make you a more “well-rounded” individual, not that it is any better than being introverted or extroverted. However, ambiverts can really look at the world through both perspectives and understand things in ways that other people might not be able to.
I think the most difficult part about finding a healthy balance lies within the fact that our tendencies depend on the situation and, often times, the situation is beyond our control. Before I knew there was a middle term, I was convinced that I was a paradox. I identified with a lot of things on both sides of the spectrum and, ultimately, I was confused. A lot of people have a strong pull to either side, but I have always been the middle-man… err.. woman. I have always been an ambivert.
So here is a shout out to all my paradox friends, to the half-and-half people of the world. We are improvisers and we will figure out who we are in any given moment. We will ride roller coasters, go to concerts, and spend time journaling by ourselves. We will always look for balance in a world that wants the weight leaning to one side.
