TO ALL THE INTROVERTS

So here’s a little PSA to all the people who have felt like I did.

Storytime: Now I was recently talking to a couple of people and the topic of being outgoing was brought up. So if anyone knows me, they know I’m a more quiet and reserved person. Now what one person brought up was that I let people control me. Now this bothered me more than it should because there are many people in the world who have a stigma towards this, towards shy people. Shy people are often looked towards as having low self-esteem or not being able to stand up for themselves; have a voice. This stereotype has followed me around my entire life, it’s made me question who I am and where I stand in this world. I even tried to conform, I tried to challenge myself by speaking out more and even getting a little rough with people and shoving them in the hallway if they didn’t get out of my way. I tried having a negative attitude towards people because frankly I thought that it was easier to be blunt, and mean so that I wouldn’t get shoved aside anymore. But it didn’t make me any more happy, in fact it did the opposite.

However, it did lead me to do some hard-core soul searching so that’s a plus. And what I got from it was this: stop trying so hard. Yup, that was all. I just needed to breathe a little and examine my life a bit more. I thought back a couple years and realized that I was raised by the kindest, strongest woman I know- my mother. Growing up, I watched as she did everything with kindness and grace and when someone upset her, she took it on the chin, squared her shoulders and said something nice back. You could say I got it from her and I’m glad I did, because I thought back on all the times someone has hurt me or said something rude to my face. I didn’t swear at them, or push them, or get revenge on them. I took it. I’m not saying if someone’s rude to you, you don’t have to say anything, but I choose not to. Call it the “high road” or being a chicken or whatever you want but in times of conflict I chose not to get involved. In fact, I HATE conflict. Yet another stigma around this is if you don’t “stand-up” for yourself your letting this person get away with bullying you. You’re letting them win. But if you’re secure enough with yourself, you know that it doesn’t matter at the end of the day.

Everyone is different, people tend to think differently. Some individuals are warriors while others are worriers. I approach situations in softer, more reserved ways than others do. It's okay to be different.

So moral of the story: Don't think to hard about what others think about YOU. Care what you think about YOURSELF, as cheesy and cliche as it might sound.

However this quote by Rhianna sums up this rant completley: ‘”all of my kindness is taken for weakness”

#honestyhour