It's Okay To Be Who You Are

It's Okay To Be Who You Are

I grew up in a small town and now that I really reflect on my life I consider myself to be an introvert. I don't think I was always an introvert. I think in middle school I was more of an Ambivert. I remember loving to socialize in my elementary and high school years. I still enjoyed my time alone. There were times where I really just didn't want to be around my friends, there were other times where I wanted to be around my friends but I knew I had to study and I wouldn't get any studying done if I sat with my friends because we would just talk and nothing would get completed. I usually gave in and talked to my friends and got nothing done and would cram study at home.

I think as time went on and I shifted from middle school to high school I was able to motivate myself more with studying. I was able to find a good balance between my social life and study life. I started to get more serious about my schooling because I knew that what grades I got from here on out would be seen by colleges.

Now that I'm in college I'm definitely an introvert. My solitude and alone time is everything to me now a days. I really can slip into deep thought when I'm alone. I think it has a lot to with the fact that I don't know a lot of people at school because I commute, and I don't try to know people or let them in on my life. I feel like if I was with people I already knew it would be a little different and I would socialize more.

I feel like I just don't have the time for new friends. I want my degree and new friends can wait. That's my outlook. I just think it's to much for me to open myself up to new people and get to know them and vice versa at this time. I also noticed that I  hate working in groups. I used to love it when i was in high school.  I'd rather just depend on myself than people I barely know and many times there's always at least one person in your group who doesn't contribute to the assignment. I do try to the make the best of group situations because teamwork is really something important to my major choice(Nursing) and I am very open to combining my idea's with others idea's.

I actually decided to look up the author of our book Susan Cain. I found a video of her speaking on introverts. A lot of the things that she said I could relate to and tied in with her book. Her message was basically that society needs to realize that introverts are as important to our society as extroverts. I definitely do get weird looks or statements said about me being the way I am. I feel like my personality is a minority and not normal but after listening to Cain I now know introverts are quite common. After listening to Cain's lecture and reading the bit I've read of her book I do feel a lot better about my personality type and who I am as a person. I definitely agree with her that our society needs a good balance of both types of people as wells as a balance between group work and working alone.

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts#t-398888