For some reason, introverts get a bad rep. As an introvert, I can see why we do; we're not necessarily the life of the party or that one friend you know will always be up for a night out. However, that doesn't mean we don't make wonderful friends; we're just a different kind of friend. Different is good. The world would be really dull if everyone was the same. I've always been more reserved and quieter and that's actually one of the things I've always wanted to change about myself until now. I've realized that I have a different place in the world than some of my extroverted friends I've always secretly envied. Unfortunately, our society favors extroversion, so growing up I always thought that something was wrong with me. People aren't supposed to all have the same personality, so naturally, introverts differ dramatically from other introverts, so the stereotypes about us aren't always accurate. I can really only write about my own specific type of personality, which according to the Briggs Myers Test, is INFP, or Mediator.
We are wonderful friends.
If you are close friends with an introvert, chances are you are very special to them. Introverts are very cautious with who they choose to socialize with or trust. We might not be the friend that's always down to party, but we are always down for a deep talk. Because introverts despise small talk, big group social activities aren't our favorite. Personally, I feel like I tend to fade into the background in big groups, but if I have at least one close companion to have a genuine conversation about life with, I'm perfectly happy. Introverts don't open up to just anyone, so if you're close friends with an introvert, you mean an awful lot to them.
We aren't all shy.
A common misconception about introverts is that they are all terribly shy and hate interacting with other people. That's not necessarily true for all introverts, though. Some introverts can be shy, but some introverts are simply quiet because they don't feel the need to contribute to conversations if they don't have something truly interesting or important to say, especially if it's a big group discussion. Gandhi once said, “Speak only if it improves upon the silence.” I feel like this pretty much sums up an introvert's mindset in big group activities. It's not that we're all terribly shy, it's that we select our words carefully. As I said before, we hate small talk, but we can talk your ear off about life all night in a one on one conversation. They say the quietest people have the loudest minds.
We're alright being alone.
Like I said earlier, introverts can be awesome friends, but they're also awesome at being alone. It's nice sometimes because I'm not too scared to eat in the cafeteria alone, in fact, if I go alone, I usually would rather not sit by anyone. I love spending my Saturday nights with a good book or Netflix as opposed to partying. I will make up excuses to get time alone. Not enough alone time leaves introverts annoyed with everyone and everything, so it's essential for us to get it. I just like to be by myself, and that's O.K.. I don't have a problem going to the mall and shopping alone when all my friends are busy. It doesn't mean I don't have any friends; it just means I am alright on my own. It's not a bad thing to be comfortable with spending time alone, it's actually kind of liberating to not worry about working around other people's agendas sometimes.
There are benefits to being an extrovert, and there are times where I wish I could be totally comfortable going out to dinner with a huge group of people, but I don't think I would ever want to change my introverted nature. Being an introvert doesn't automatically mean that you're shy, timid, or even stuck up. We're simply different from extroverts, and that's totally fine. There's a lot of awesome things about being an introvert.
