Intro to Intro

We are each a special snowflake in the grand blizzard of humanity. This blog is my experience, and yours is bound to be (more or less) different.

That said,

Hi. Here I am. Here’s my blog. I’m going to write about stuff, including but not limited to introversion[1], books, theater, fashion, cooking.

Let's start with being an introvert.

My party line: Introversion is not a disease. It is not a failing or a pathology. It is not better or worse than extroversion. Introversion is a part of me, and I am a part of it, and that’s okay.

Introversion confuses people, both the extroverts and the introverts themselves. This is normal. The following is my stab at explaining:

The Life of I…ntroversion[2]

• Introverts like people. People are lovely. They are beautiful, unique confections that should be helped and cared for in this terrifying and harrowing journey of life. But much of the time, the people need to leave us in quiet. 
• Listening instead of talking
• Self-entertaining. Most time will be spent in our own minds.
• Thoughts. About everything. All the time. 
• Needing much less external validation than extroverted friends. 
• Parties are a bore. Small talk is the bane of our existence.
• Self-awareness, sometimes beyond the point of strict sanity.
• Telephone conversations fill us with dread. I have no idea why, I just know that I cannot stand to call delivery people. Thus, text-based communication is a gift from Heaven.
• To sit in solemn silence sounds pretty great, actually.

Key point, the above list does not make me unhappy; where my extroverted friends would feel silence a punishment, I see it as a relief.  I genuinely do not want to go to the party: it is not a question of shyness, or feeling left out, or aloofness – I simply do not have the energy. To quote Angel from his eponymous Whedon show, “This socializing thing is brutal.” 

I am not Boo Radley, hiding in the shadows, a recluse waiting to snatch your children and eat them in the night. Friends are awesome; I like mine quite a bit. 

People are great. 

It’s just sometimes, they need to go away. 

And that’s all. The need for solitude doesn't mean I love my people any less. In order to continue functioning like a human being, to continue working and taking care of the house and building meaningful relationships, I must have quiet.

This little interaction (again from Angel) pretty well sums up how I feel about life; like Angel, sometimes I just want to be alone in the dark. 

Angel: [T]o show my appreciation, I was thinking… that the three of us could, well, should, you know, maybe, go out –  you know, for fun.

Cordelia: Or we can go home.

Doyle: And you can sit in the dark alone.[3]

Angel: Gosh yes. Thank you.[4]

xo,

Devo

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[1] The litmus test: After you’ve had a long, exhausting day, which do you prefer: 1) To talk with friends, unwind with pleasant chatter and togetherness or 2) Solitude? (1) is extroversion, (2) is introversion. 

[2] As you will soon learn, I cannot resist a pun.

[3] My preferred Fortress of Solitude is the bathtub. 

[4] What have I learned from writing this post? I am more like a soul-cursed Whedon vampire than I realized. Not sure how to feel about this. (Quote lightly edited)