I’ve never really been afraid to talk in front of a group, or confront an issue with someone, or lead a conversation with a group of friends. But I think it's these things that sometimes lead people to think I’m an extrovert, and they are surprised when they find out otherwise.

As we get older, the desire to be the center of attention for some fades. That was definitely the case with me. When I was younger, I would always try to tell funny jokes or bring up good conversations to put myself in the spotlight.

However, as I’ve gotten more mature, I’ve seen this tendency change to quite the opposite. Now, these things I once thrived on leave me exhausted. At one point in my life, not too long ago, I would have hated the idea of spending a night in when my friends go out, but sometimes now that’s all I want to do.

The majority of people find it so odd when I say I’m actually introverted. They find it hard to believe when I have a bubbly personality that I don’t thrive off of interactions with other people.

But it’s the truth, despite my love for deep, genuine relationships with people; it drains me and wears me out. Being in groups of many people for a long period of time honestly just makes me tired by the end of it.

For the longest time, I thought I was extroverted because I liked to talk and hang out with people, but then I was told that extroverts are refueled from a long day by hanging out with a group of friends or being around people, while introverts are refueled by going home and spending some quality time alone. But that totally makes sense, and the latter is definitely me.

There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. I think often introverts feel this pressure to always be going, that if they give in to their desire to spend some time alone, they will be missing out on something their extroverted friends are doing.

Perhaps this is where people get confused when trying to determine if someone is an extrovert or not. For me, although I enjoy the time I can spend just hanging out by myself and relaxing with a cup of coffee, I don’t want to let my days go to waste and pass by unnoticed, so I push myself. Even when I may not want to, I go out when invited. I try not to let my introversion come out and turn down invites too often. Sometimes I’ll even be the one to start the conversation and get us going somewhere.

So yes, being an introvert is not bad, and it’s not that you should hide it and push yourself too much, but even though you may not want to all the time, go. Go out and do the things that you may not want to at first. Let people be surprised to find out you’re an introvert because you don’t want these days of undiscovered adventures to pass you up because you insisted on staying in for the night.