The Misunderstood Introvert

I am an introvert. I can easily relate myself to a typical introvert. My Myers-Brigg Test results are INFP, with high score leaning towards Introvert and Feeler. Having said that, I still have plenty of people (acquaintances especially) who thought otherwise.

I get it. I go out often. I meet people often. I can somewhat (the somewhat comes from others who think I can properly strike conversations with people) talk with strangers. I talk a lot. I am loud.

Make it this way. These are the signs of an introvert (which suits my personality well):

1. NEED ME TIME. I need alone time. There are days which I just need to be alone. Extroverts can die if they do not meet interact with another human for even a day, or at most two days. On the other hand, I can die if I interact with people non-stop for two days in a row.

2. Normally seen having meals alone. Introverts prefer to have their meals alone and uninterrupted. Waiters trying to flirt with them? Stay away; you have been warned. There was once I almost splashed that thick-faced waiter with a glass of water just because he didn't get the memo and kept on flirting, which to me was borderline sexual harassment. Their worst nightmare though, is to bump into another acquaintance who happens to be a true blue extrovert. Once that happens, there goes their peaceful meals.

3. Prefers driving alone or wearing earphones in a public transport (for those who are too poor to afford a car). My brother used to ask me this question, "What is the big deal of asking your friends to give you a ride? You don't have genuine friends meh?" Yes, apart from not wanting to trouble them, the main reason is for me to have an alone time in the car to recharge after hours of chit-chatting with friends non-stop. I especially need that when I attend social events.

4. Usually wait for friendly extroverts to approach them in social events. Unsurprisingly, introverts are usually pleasant-looking or even attractive *cough*. When I attend networking events (in the name of work or when I am too nice to say no), somehow there will be kind people who approach me and strike conversations with me. There will be occasional awkward pauses, but other than that, they will be kind enough to keep the conversations going. And so do I, after many, many years of training to make small talks. Small talks then lead to point 5.

5. HATE SMALL TALKS. Look at points 3 and 4. Introverts are deep thinkers who hate meaningless, superficial small talks. Wherever I go, I usually pray that I will not bump into any familiar faces because I will have to think of questions like," What brings you here?" "Who do you come with?" "Where got cheap sale?" "Got this kind of event meh?" and the list goes on. The same goes for hitching a ride with others. Back in those Kerteh days, I used to hitch a ride with someone who drove to KL on some weekends. Imagine getting stuck with the person for 3++ hours. We will eventually run out of things to say. There comes my "keeping the conversations going" skill, by asking appropriate questions. That way, they will do all the talking for me to listen. Which was why sometimes I prefer to drive alone to KL (again, refer to point 3).

6. Difficult to say no. Despite being an introvert, I have people who regularly ask me out for dinner. I do not want to say no because I do not want to disappoint them. I am not sure if this is related to being an introvert, but I shall list it here to dispel the "why do I call myself an introvert if I often go out for dinner with others".

7. Build friendships, not networks. To introverts, networks are meaningless and superficial. But friendships last an eternity (that is, provided that the friends you make do not end up being a bitch). I treasure every single friendship, provided that they feel the same. I do have friends whom we ended up being drifted apart, but no hard feelings because things change. This is why I normally talk to less people but once we meet and start talking, we will end up being the loudest in the room. HAHAHA.

8. Prefer to express their thoughts and ideas on a platform rather than vocally. Like me, I prefer to articulate my rants via a journal, rather than shouting it out loud with a loudspeaker (literally LOL). I prefer to present a well-documented proposal and then presenting it to one person rather than giving a speech to the crowd. I used to like drawing, but it somehow drifted to writing. I still write today. I am trying to brush up my writing skills which have apparently gone rusty. Despite being so, I will still be vocal and voice out my dissatisfaction should anything goes wrong.

I hope that people out there will understand introverts better after reading this post from an introvert.