From the early days of elementary school to my current explorations in college, I have encountered an endless list of extroverts. To be clear, I use that word to represent those that find socialization energizing, not just those that are especially outgoing.
To be clear once more, I am quite literally as far from an extrovert as I can get. It's always been this way. Socializing to me is something that has to be worth the struggle of managing interaction. I do it because I've been fortunate enough to meet many great people in my life, however this does not change that I am truly an introvert.
I'm discussing all of this because I often find that others mistake my introversion for a bad day or an issue with one person or another. They ask what's wrong, often out of genuine concern which I appreciate, but if enough people check for a wound that isn't there it becomes a problem. Here we go. I'll try to keep it short.
No friends, no I am not deciding to not hang out because I'm having a tragic day. I'm not deciding to not hang out with you because I hate someone. I'm choosing to not hanging out because I wasn't given a choice for what my social range would be. I'm choosing to not hang out because unfortunately you are exhausting.
You're great, don't get me wrong, but sports can be great. Sports can be amazing experiences of physical ability and diverse communities. A truly human experiment. Yet at the end of the game you're tired. You're done. You don't really want to go play a whole second game right away.
You don't have to feel bad that I'm not energized like you are. That's a factor of life in any situation. It really is. Instead all I ask is that you respect and acknowledge the fact that some people truly just aren't that into this, that some of us are putting a little more effort into this than you have to yourself.
To the extrovert I say, "I love you guys, but by God you make me tired."
