I'm an introvert, and I'm okay

A cool person named Mike posted a video about introversion on Facebook, and it got me thinking.

When I was in high school, one of the many identities I tried on for a while was that of an extrovert. It seemed like the ideal of a good, likable, righteous person. I saw extroverts as the bright, shiny, bubbly, popular people who did cool things and were loved by all. I felt a lot of pressure to get out there and make stuff happen and be bold and exciting and be friendly and fun. This pressure seemed to come from... well, everywhere. Peers. Teachers. Church leaders. The Media.

I tried really hard. I jumped into all sorts of stuff to "be outgoing." Although many of the activities were fun, the drive to be with people and seen by people never felt all that great to me. I could pretend, but I didn't like being the center of attention. Trying to constantly keep up with social events and friends and Cool People exhausted me.

It always seemed somewhat unfair to me that the qualities of extroverts were held as the highest traits a person could have, and that if someone hadn't yet attained those traits, they needed to get on it. Stuff like enjoying group work or public speaking skillz or finding parties to attend and getting in the middle of all the action. It made me uncomfortable that I simply wasn't like that, and it made me uncomfortable that no matter how hard I tried to enjoy those things, I was uncomfortable. I felt deficient.  

I was not deficient. I am not deficient.

It has certainly taken a while, but I've come to understand myself better than ever. I'm an introvert, and I'm okay. I love spending time alone with my thoughts. Quality time alone is refreshing and energizing to me. I prefer to listen to conversations, rather than lead them. I'm not a huge fan of spending time with lots of people at once. I prefer books to parties, and spending time at home over Having Adventures.

While I have a few different theories about why I've struggled with depression, one that really stands out is feeling guilt over my introversion. I've been told so many times that my personality is wrong, and that I have to fix it. I have to anguish over making friends, and feel guilt when it takes a long time. Enjoying alone time makes me a loner, and that's bad.

Please don't misunderstand my complaining; extroverts are amazing, and I love them. But they are not socially superior, and we introverts have no reason to feel guilt over our quiet natures.

(Parents and other readers with sensitive constitutions, you are now invited to stop reading so you don't get offended by the dreadful language coming up, which would surely make you worry about my being thrust into the depths of Hell.) 

I can honestly say that I like myself, and I'm happy with who I am. I am a really good person, and I have a perfectly wonderful personality. The world needs people like me. So you know what, Society? Suck it.

"The Facebook" and old people part two: TMI alert!

While geriatric Facebook blunders involving basic internet-ing knowledge are entertaining, some blunders are downright dangerous. Sometimes the eldery don't know where to draw the line between sharing socially-acceptable information and socially-horrifying information.

Old people love to talk about the state of their bodies: wrinkles and saggies, what's been ailing them this week, and bodily functions. Lots of bodily functions. This information seems more or less appropriate to be forced upon their family and friends in person, or doctors at the very least. But online for unsuspecting kids and kids-at-heart to see?...

...It's just disturbing. 

Even when the medical updates aren't inherently awkward, the fact that they're sharing the information with us can be off-putting.

Unfortunately, it seems that when they're not sharing gross stuff with us, they share personal information with third parties that would absolutely love to steal their identities and make their lives super lame. 

(Note to everyone: don't hand out your personal information like Halloween candy.)

And sometimes, their love affair of the like button reveals a little too much about their personal preferences.

P.S. While researching, we saw this. You're welcome.

"The Facebook" and old people part one: The fact that you call it that tells me you're not ready.

We all know that old people have trouble with any device that plugs into a wall, needs batteries, or has the letter i in front of it. But the place we notice it more than usual is on Facebook.

Source: motivatorscompanyblog.com

They presumably join for the same reasons that we do--to keep in touch with friends they've only met once and family they've never met, broadcast intimate details of their lives, and post cat videos. But while we young people are aware of the awkward, uncomfortable, weird and terrible things that Facebook seems to magnetically attract, old people simply do not. Thus, Facebook is a treasure trove of awkward old-person moments.

The first mistake many of the elderly make on Facebook is misunderstanding well-known text speak. This is a tricky problem because old people LOVE text speak; it makes them feel so hip. Poor dears. They often believe that common acronyms stand for the exact opposite of what they mean. For example, many old people believe that lol stands for "lots of love." It generally doesn't go well for them.

You have to at least commend them for trying.

Old people are particularly prone to sharing the sparkly pink spam of the social network world: tired old copy-n-paste messages that no one likes to read, which are always ridiculously cheesy or nonsensical. The sad truth is that they have latched on to an archaic email gimmick which should be left back in 2003 with other silly email fads.

They also seem fond of posting those cutesy, emotionally manipulative stories that belong back in your Yahoo inbox.

For some reason, teenage girls are pretty fond of those too.

Another misdemeanor old people commit on Facebook is taking everything seriously. EVERYTHING. For some reason, they don't recognize that people of younger generations enjoy sarcasm, irony, and quoting obscure songs.

I think they may actually be better off living in blissful ignorance of things like brain-killing music videos.

And of course, there's the subtle but ever-present mistake old people make on Facebook: revealing their confusion about Facebook... on Facebook.

Check back soon for more on Facebook and old people!

NOTE: All Facebook statuses and such were created by me. Any resemblance to the stuff your grandma puts on Facebook is coincidental, but kind of awesome.