Part 1 – The Introvert Part
My favorite time of the year is October, November, and December. The rest of the year is like waiting in line to me.
I really love Halloween. A large part is due to it being socially acceptable to carry around a giant pillowcase of candy and graze from it like a feed bag. It’s also about zombies and Draculas and ghosts and stuff I like all year long.
Halloween has a lot to do with drawing attention to yourself with costumes, etc. However, I’m an introvert, and a pretty extreme one at that. My Myers-Briggs personality type is I(introverted)S(sensing)T(thinking)J(judging). In summary, I’m a detail-oriented rule follower who doesn’t like surprises, and most importantly for this post – can go a while without socializing (I also have ADD, which makes for a hell of a lot of angst, which someday I’ll write about). Extraverts gain energy from interacting with other people; introverts expend energy interacting with other people. Extraverts often don’t understand why introverts won’t “lighten up,” or why they don’t want to ride that mechanical bull in front of the entire bar (or even just go to the bar). I’ve made this chart to demonstrate:
Also, there is a difference between being shy and being an introvert. I’m a shy introvert. I don’t like being the center of attention unless specific parameters are understood and set. I don’t like being an acquaintance of the center of attention for fear that I will become collateral damage. Going to a place where I don’t know anyone makes my brain break out in hives. I like to ride the coattails of people I already know who are less socially awkward than me.
I don’t do any heavy lifting when it comes to conversations. I hate small talk and am not good at sustaining it. I can talk forever and in depth on things I’m interested in and I love finding out I have things in common with people. But, I don’t do the verbal digging to figure any of that out. I know this sounds like I don’t give a shit about people or want to get to know them, but that’s not it at all. It’s that I take my personal connections seriously – I go in all or nothing. So when it comes to the notion of casual social contact, e-mail and the internet is like a godsend to me. Getting to know bloggers, because they put it there without me having to ask, and without the awkward silences, has been awesome.
All of this is to say that for an introvert at my level, Halloween, a highly participatory holiday, isn’t exactly a perfect fit for a social spectator like me. What’s an introvert to do? Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 – The Part About Halloween.
Personality types are like my astrological signs. I find them fascinating. What’s yours? Here’s a place you can find out.
I love that you put yourself so close to Boo Radley…you are my hero!
And I love that the only picture I could find of him is him literally backed into a corner. I think rooms should have more than four corners – but for hiding, not for punishment. I know you’ve had issues with that, Paula.
I love any holiday that justifies my lifestyle of dressing like a slut and binge-eating candy.
HA! Jen, I think the first point may make you an extrovert.
Yeah, on that scale I’d be the chick in front of the streaker, flashing my tits at David Niven.
And I would be in the back row missing all the action.
Carrie, I just recently learned that there is a word (introvert) for me and lack of social needs. I don’t usually even ride someone’s coattails, it’s just easier for me not to go unless I feel really obligated or it’s a group of people I know fairly well (usually family). Nice to ‘meet’ you!
Nice to “meet” you, too! I pretty much only feel comfortable around my family or the handful of friends I know really well. I also find making phone calls exhausting. I have ONE to make today and you would think I was going in for a root canal.
Phone calls! Ack! I *hate* the phone. I love my iPhone, cause I can read on it. It’s not a phone, it’s a library in my pocket. I hate to answer the phone, or the doorbell.
I think we are polar opposites. It’s a minor miracle twitter put us together.
Glad it did. Good blog. Can’t wait to come back. Thanks for my comment.
Thanks, Lance! I think that’s what’s cool about the internet – introverts can meet extroverts without all the hassle of doing it in person. Otherwise, it may never happen.
I can’t wait to hear how this applies to Halloween.
Do you put on a mask and then go streaking?
Ohhh, no. It is way more boring than that. It’s the complete opposite. If I put a mask on and streaked for Halloween it would be a Pervert’s Halloween, not an Introvert’s Halloween. There IS a difference between the two. I swear.
I love this post. Halloween drives me bonkers, with all the over-the-top extroverts dressing up together in themes an wondering why Accounting isn’t dressing up. It is fun to watch though as long as they don’t ask me, “Where’s your costume?”
The most I wil do is put on a Tiggr tie (black & orange). I love your extrovert/introvert spectrum. Honestly, I’m to the right of Boo Radley, and I like it out there.