Who am I and where do I fit in? I'm five months and a handful of days away from my 68th birthday and still asking this question. I've thought more about this since the date of my 50th high school graduating class reunion was announced.
An article, "All About Introverts" by Carol Bainbridge (http://bit.ly/JseT3b) caught my eye recently. Reading it, I said to myself, "This is me!" I'm willing, relieved even, to accept her findings and begin to think of myself as something more than odd, asocial, damaged in some way or abnormal, contrary to popular belief. It isn't that I have been unaware of the term. I've used it to describe myself for a long time, having bought into the idea that this wasn't a good thing. In my professional life, workshops--Myers-Briggs and the like--were administered routinely in the workplace. Helpful, personally or professionally? Not noticeably, though administration was always looking for ways to improve productively and achieve better outcomes. A simple, one-page article with specific descriptions of traits, preferences, and the like associated with being introverted is information I've not had before. This feels like a validation of self. I've learned to respond in a more extroverted manner in order to function in a society where extrovert behavior is often the standard. I retired at the end of December, 2011 so the need to act extroverted is less for me now that I'm no longer in an office environment dealing daily with the public. It may now be okay to just be me.
My interest in blogging? I prefer writing to speech. Just like an introvert.
- Christie Morgan South
