I'm an Introvert?!?!

What do you hear when you someone uses the word introvert to describe someone? Do you think shy? Anti-social? Because that's what I think. Or what I use to think. But you know what? After reading the article "What's Is It Really Like to Be an Introvert" in the Huffington Post today, I realized I was totally wrong. And even though I consider to myself to be outgoing, I can often times be quite the little introvert.

I think if you polled those close to me to describe me in three adjectives, or even a hundred, introverted would never come up on that list. Athletic...Loud....Competitive....Driven. Independent... all come up (I can keep going if you want...), but never introverted. However, I do believe I can be considered to be a very introverted person. Now don't get me wrong, I can party and socialize with the best of them when I need and want to, and am often described as suuuuper outgoing, but more often than not, I just like to relax at home. Alone.

I just love to do things by myself. Go shopping. See a movie. Stay home on a Saturday night to watch TV and go to bed early. So fucking what? I enjoy the time alone with myself and I will never apologize for that. I like to recharge and make that time for myself. I know without that time, I would go a little coo-coo. And I have needed that time more lately.

My parents often joke that I am my own best friend because I do so many things alone. I really just prefer to get things done my way, on my own time, and done efficiently. I like to throw on my headphones and head out to run some errands or do some shopping. Or if I am just craving a burger, I will go out and get one.

More often than not, its my choice to do all these things alone. It's MY time. In this time I relax, decompress, and just generally clear my head all by myself. And this comes down to what I think is the biggest takeaway quote from the Huff Po article: "In some ways, I believe that the ability to enjoy being by yourself says a great deal about your confidence." I am confident enough to go and do these things by alone. I am confident enough on the weekend to say "I'm just going to stay in tonight" and be totally okay with it. I don't have to make up any excuse or justify staying in. I just want to. And what's so wrong with that? Nothing. My schedule has been so hectic and busy lately that the little free time I have, I just want to sit on the couch in my sweatpants and relax. Alone. And as I said earlier, I am not going to apologize for that in any way, shape, or form.

So call me what you want when I refuse your invite to go out but at the end of the day, I am doing what makes me happy and if sitting at home while reading the Hunger Games Trilogy again and watching good/bad TV on Bravo makes me happy, gosh darnit, I am going to do just that. (I may or may not have done that exact thing this weekend and it may or may not have been pretty much perfect.)