The Life of an Introvert

Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?

As surprising as the fact may be to some people, introverts do not walk around with giant 'I's in red ink on their shirts or foreheads. Introverts do not look depressed, and they may not necessarily be the ones sitting alone in a crowd or at school.

Distinguishing an introvert from an extrovert goes beyond that. A lot of people can pass as extroverts. Even someone who seems to lead a very active social life can be an introvert.

There are different levels of being an introvert. All introverts have an extroverted side, just as all extroverts have an introverted side.

There cannot be a person who is 100% introvert or extrovert. Trust me, they'd go nuts. Either that or they'd go bananas. Possibly they'd also go crackers. Or maybe they'd become a bowl of nuts, bananas, and crackers mixed together. Does anyone else find it weird that food references are often brought up when referring to people as crazy? 

Anyway.

A very important thing to remember is that loneliness or depression aren't things that you can blame on being an introvert. Low self-esteem and being an introvert are not directly related. As I've mentioned before, being shy and introverted are two different things.

Can you believe that as recently as 2010, the American Psychiatric Association even considered classifying introversion as a disorder? That sucks. A lot of great people were introverts, and they certainly weren't mentally challenged and didn't have a disorder.

Some people are even unaware that they're introverts, but there are some ways that you can tell. Here are a few.

1) You're friends with an extrovert-Opposites attract. I cannot tell you how many social butterflies I have for friends, and that's not a bad thing. Both personality types can contribute to a friendship or relationship. Although there is nothing wrong with an introvert-introvert friendship or extrovert-extrovert friendship. Many of my friends are introverts as well. 

2)  Your brain will not shut up-As for this one, I've always had a constant inner monologue. Even as a child. I was surprised to find that not everyone had it. Don't take this the wrong way. Not having inner dialogue doesn't make you dumb. Extroverts process new information in a different way that we do. That is to say, introverts don't always voice their thoughts as much as an extrovert would.

3) You're excited at the idea of a comfy night at home- A lot of introverts will be very productive during the time they get to isolate themselves from distractions and just, well, chill, and the idea of a night at home doesn't disappoint them.

4) Social activity drains you-I'm sure I've beaten this into your heads by now. Being out with friends is enjoyable, but it does most certainly leave me craving time alone. If I'm told that we're busy all weekend, I will shoot myself.

Of course, like I said earlier, there is no such thing as 100% introverted or extroverted. That's a balance between both personalities. And just because you have some of the traits I mentioned above does not necessarily mean you are an introvert. If you're curious about it, one way to find out is to take the Briggs-Myers test. It's available online and it classifies your personality on four different scales.

One of those scales is extroversion vs introversion. If you take it, you may actually surprise yourself by being the opposite of what you thought you were. 

(Any result that begins with I means you are introverted, and any result beginning with E means you are more extroverted)

Of course, all of these things are not completely accurate. Many people don't believe that an online test can fully determine your personality. I totally get that. The people you're close with might have an opinion on whether you're more introverted or extroverted, but the best person to decide your personality is you. 

A lot of us fall between both personalities, or what you would call ambiverts. Of course, however, some of us lean more toward extroversion or introversion.