One of the ongoing characteristics that people have always noted about me is that I am very quiet. From a very young age, family, friends, teachers, coaches, and other acquaintances have always told me how quiet of a person I am. It doesn’t really matter what I’m doing either – I am usually bound to be more quiet than those around me. I still remember my really sweet 1^st grade teacher telling me years ago, “Maddie, the whole world could be talking mass chaos around you, and you would still be quiet as ever.” I actually took this as a compliment. Remember in school when most of the students would be talking nonstop, disrupting the class? I was never one of those students. Maybe you were one of those talkative ones, and that’s fine, but it’s also okay that I am quiet.

I have come to realize that my quiet demeanor is just a part of who I am. Yes, I grew up rather shy and sometimes I still struggle with being a little too quiet, but I also don’t think there is anything wrong with conducting myself in a soft manner. Sometimes I am quiet just because the rest of the world is so noisy, and I think, why would I want to contribute to that? With my quiet demeanor comes my reserved personality. I’m also an introvert rather than an extrovert. I enjoy my quiet space and alone time, and frequently get lost in my own thoughts. Often times I will keep to myself, and socializing can be very anxiety-inducing for me.

This is not to say though, that I do not have a great personality, or that I do not have as much to offer the world as the next person. Sure, it may take me a little longer than most to warm up to someone, but that doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on anything once you get to know me. If you ask any of my good friends, they’ll tell you just how fun and outgoing I can be when I am feeling it. It’s not that I do not have a lot to say, but more so that I do not ever feel the need to run my mouth or talk people’s ears off.

Do I sometimes wish that I was a little more naturally outgoing? Yes. Would it make a lot of aspects of my life a little easier? Of course. But I also wish that people wouldn’t automatically pin me as something I am not before even talking to me. You see, many people have a preconceived notion about quiet people that usually isn’t true. We are thought to be stuck up or just downright unapproachable. This is far from what the majority of quiet people are actually like, myself included. Now, I also have what is known as in today’s society as a “resting bitch face” (please excuse the language.) This simply means that my natural facial appearance causes me to look upset, or sad or even just too serious sometimes. I honestly can’t really help it, so my friends and I actually just make it into something funny. It just goes to show that you can always turn something that you don’t particularly like about yourself into something that brings you joy somehow.

If you are someone who is very talkative and outgoing, I think that’s great. But if you are someone who tends to be more quiet and reserved, know that it’s just as great to be this way. I personally take pride in having a quiet demeanor. It allows people to judge me more by my actions rather than my words. It also enables me to be humble. I have no desire to go about talking myself up constantly, or being obnoxious by being inadvertently loud. My reserved personality also makes me a very respectable person in a lot of situations. Of course, you can always be outgoing and also have these qualities, but I feel that I personally exhibit these qualities because of my quiet disposition.

Again, if you are quiet like me, don’t ever think that you have to be something you are not. Take your quiet demeanor and show the world how great you are in your own way. And if you happen to notice a quiet person on a given day, don’t think that you can’t or shouldn’t go talk to them – they would probably love it. You also just may find that they’re one of the nicest, most interesting people you have ever met.