I've always been a pretty quiet person. It's not that I don't have a lot to say—because believe me, when I start talking about something, I will not stop talking. It's pretty bad. During sorority recruitment, I was word-vomitting like it was my job. I was super relieved when I got my bid on bid day.
On the contrary, though, I can also be painfully awkward. Phone calls? Terrible. Parties? Can't do them. Meeting new people? Honestly, can we just not?
But aside from all of that, being the quiet person is actually pretty entertaining.
For one thing, the quiet one is always listening. Always. I've heard some ridiculous things just walking down the street. Quiet people know all of the hottest gossip. Honestly, for some reason, I still remember some of the gossip that I heard in middle school.
I would be lying if I said that I didn't ever use some of this gossip in my short stories. Hey—it's not creepy if it makes a good plot, right? This is the part where I should nervously laugh and shuffle away from this aspect of being an unashamed quiet person, isn't it?
The next reason that being quiet is actually the best is that every friendship feels sacred. It takes a little bit of time to get me out of my shell, and I commend anybody who is able to do so. Unfortunately, that means I'm prone to follow my friends around like a little duckling in any sort of unknown situation, but it is what it is; nobody seems too upset yet.
One of my favorite things about being weirdly quiet is when I say something vaguely sassy or humorous because people usually get pretty surprised. This might be in class or on Twitter—I've been told that I've made some great tweets. I don't understand why, as it's mainly me laughing at myself or making sad jokes, but thank you to anybody who told me that. I just hope you know that you have created a monster.
Finally, the teachers that I've had in the past have seemed to like me. I think it's probably more of an appreciation that I actually shut up during the lecture, but it's still preferred over being the annoying kid in class. I mean, hey, not to brag—but my report cards in high school always said I was "a pleasure to have in class." That's how you know you've made it.
To conclude, being quiet isn't all bad. Sure, I'm painfully shy and awkward in some situations. In the end, there are worse things to be than quiet or awkward. We all have our quirks—what's important is recognizing the good in those quirks.
