Your parents probably testify that, as a kid, you were a handful. You always wanted to go to the park to meet other kids. You never hesitated to walk up to someone your age and ask them to play basketball with you. You spoke your mind without fear of what your many friends would think. When there was nobody to talk to, you lost your mind. The idea of being alone was the most terrifying thing you could think of.

You were an extrovert.

As you got older, you might have faced the cold realities of life. Maybe you were bullied. By people. Maybe you got your heart broken. By a person. Maybe you just lost faith. In people. Soon enough, you realized that you are not an extrovert because you love people or being around them. You are an extrovert because you need people.

And that’s a problem when people suck.

You’ve started coming up with excuses as to why you can’t go to that party. You’ve been spending more Friday nights than not by yourself. And it’s all because you’re afraid. And you have every right to be.

Being an extrovert who hates people is like hating the taste of water. Socialization is something you need, yet you would rather stay in your room and watch Netflix. But when you do that, you become thirsty and a little bit insane.

But water is not the only liquid. There’s lemonade. There’s tea. There’s soda. These drinks represent the people in your life who haven’t given you a reason to completely shut everyone out. They’re the people who haven’t given up on you. They’re the people who add a little bit of flavor to your life. The little bit of flavor that you need.

And you’ve come to realize that you have advantages. Many introverts struggle throughout their lives to develop social skills that will help them in life. You already have those. Many extroverts struggle to develop themselves in knowledge because their time is spent goofing around with their friends. You can only take it in small doses, but your alone time can be well-spent studying something worth knowing about.

Being an extrovert who hates people has (hopefully) made you realize that your struggles have made you a better person. A better person with wider eyes and the best friends you could possibly have.