I have always been an introvert. While I enjoy parties and socialising, I really relish my own space. I’m rarely bored in solitude and enjoy lots of activities that people often associate with introversion, such as reading and art. In fact, I’d pondered that I would probably be fine with a hermit lifestyle…until lockdown, that is. I was okay to begin with, but it didn’t take me long to miss talking to people and going places. Nonetheless, there are many merits to lockdown for introverts.
introvert
I’m not shy – I’m an introvert
“She’s very quiet, why is that?” I remember my biology teacher asking my parents at a parents’ evening when I was about 13 years old. It was almost as though there was something wrong with me. For as long as I can remember, even as a child, people have called me shy and responded differently to me than they might others because I’m an introvert. It frustrates me somewhat, although quietly, because I don’t think I am shy. To me, I think of shyness as being when someone is afraid of speaking to other people – they want to revert back to that childhood behaviour of hiding behind their parents legs when someone wants to speak to them. That’s the thing…I’m not really afraid of speaking to other people and I don’t see myself as shy.