When I think of the word introvert, I tend to think of a very shy and antisocial individual who wants to do nothing but blend into the background and disappear. As an introvert, I know this description is not the full truth and that being introverted is much more than being silent and hiding from interaction.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been the kind of person who didn’t try to make myself known to others and didn’t go out of my way to express myself. As an introvert, I have been told that all I want to do is hide and refuse to work with others, however, where there may be a lack of participation, comes the advantage of me being capable of thoroughly understanding a topic or conversation before I deem it necessary to give my input rather than charging in whether I’m right or wrong. Essentially this means that while some say I won’t participate, instead what I am doing is observing before interacting.

With my introversion, I am able to do many creative and productive things that I simply wouldn’t be able to do if I were extroverted. Where some would see me as a person who keeps to himself and doesn’t do much, I see myself as someone who is able to put more thought into my work to where I am comfortable with the end result. A great example being how I put seemingly endless amounts of time and effort into my projects for any one of the multiple art classes I have taken. I am capable of being more focused and a better listener as well as being able to form closer bonds with my friends due to how I put more thought into my responses during conversation.

I may be introverted, but I am not someone to be labeled as an antisocial nobody. I am much more than that and have multiple unique and positive attributes that many people don’t notice. I am content with how I live my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing.