I’ve seen the Introverts Unite campaign floating around for a while. When it first was posted last year, I knew that I needed to do it. Actually doing this never got done, or we can just say that I forgot about it until this year, a few days before this day[1. Because this is a scheduled post for reasons I will reveal after the weekend!]. I highly doubt this will come off as a shock to anyone, but if it does happen to, then now you’ll know.

I’m probably one of the worst examples of an introvert, though, so for a while I’ve been putting this post off. Some people wonder if introversion is something having to do with Aspies, and vice versa. I don’t believe that it does. And although I have a distaste for people in general, that’s not what introversion to me is.

I’m also depressed, so for a lot of people, the “best” thing for me is to be with people. Other people tell me that this is a phase.

I’m an introvert. I’ve always been an introvert.

Just because I’m an introvert doesn’t mean…

…I’m avoiding you and/or I’m antisocial. I enjoy being alone, and that’s okay. Sometimes, I need more time away from people, even if I haven’t spent any time with people the entire day. I have the most energy when I am not around many people. Thus, I steer clear of parties as often as possible, and get together events exhaust me as well.

…I’m a bookworm. I used to read a lot in middle school, but I read all of the books my journalism/seventh grade homeroom teacher had[2. She allowed her students to “check out” her own books she had bought.], and unless I find a book I really love, I dislike reading now. I would read a new book everyday, sometimes up to three books. I think of myself as more of a writer these days, because I now prefer to write my own ending and make my own cliff hangers.

…I’m shy. Although I’ll say I’m shy, I don’t really think of myself as such. It’s just something that is easier for me to say than to explain that I prefer to think things through and write it out instead. I stuttered a lot as a kid, and I would always get in trouble for it — either at home or at school. I like to write out my thoughts more than speak them. More often than not, I find myself wishing I was deaf, because it feels like I’d at least have a reason to not have to speak. Not speaking results in no stuttering. I’m not shy; I’m merely terrified you’ll make fun of me for stuttering and/or cut me off whilst I’m trying to talk.

…I’m cold and arrogant. I’m not heartless. I do have a heart, I’m just so not the kind of person you should cry on.

…I never go anywhere. I do go places, but I’m more likely to go somewhere that fits my interests if I can help it. I mean, I went to the ER and the 12th Annual Butterfly Festival this year. See? I go places!

…I’m fragile. Last year, I read a post on Datingish that made me feel as if the woman sought her girlfriend and other introverts to be fragile. I’m sensitive and vulnerable at times, but who isn’t? I’m not this dainty, soft-spoken mouse that needs protection from a hawk.

…I’m forever alone. I know many introverts who have partners. I promise my singleness has nothing to do with my introversion. If I happen to claim it does later on, then so be it. However, so many guys are just ridiculous.

…I’m a genius. So I was quiet in class. I’m as smart as the average student at most school-related things. It pisses me off when people assume I’ll go far because I was the quietest classmate in class. Chances are I was doodling and/or thinking about something else just so I wouldn’t fall asleep on my desk. After all, falling asleep in school has always been a fear for me.

…I have a secret life you don’t know about. I mean, I guess I do, but blogging as a secret life doesn’t seem like the super-cool-secret-spy secret life you seem to be imagining in your head.

…I need to speak louder. Do I really need to elaborate? Maybe I don’t want to speak loudly for a reason.

…I don’t have friends. This one is complicated. It’s not that I don’t have friends, it’s just that everyone offline stabs me in the back at some point or another, and then everything changes. I use “friends” interchangeably, referring to people on Facebook as my “friends”, even though they consist of family members, people I went to school/church with and/or people that my family want me to know, and therefore I befriended out of niceness. P.S. Yes, I know over 200 people. I cleaned it out last year, so it decreased by 200. I don’t add/accept people I don’t know. It is possible to know that many people if you’ve moved and lived where I have.