Being an introvert

People who have met me in person usually think one of two things. That either I'm incredibly quiet or I'm incredibly talkative. Very rarely is it something in between. But how can that be? It's seems dichotomous at best.

It's easy. I'm an introvert. I am, by nature, a solitary, quiet person. However, put me one on one with someone I trust and a topic I'm passionate about, and I turn into Chatty Cathy. I have a friend who I only ever saw in a single environment when it was only the two of us. We would talk and laugh for hours until someone else reminded us of the time. The first time she invited me to a party at her house? She commented to me afterward that she worried I wasn't having a good time, because I'd been so quiet. She'd literally never seen me like that before, so it took her aback to realize I wasn't so outgoing all the time.

I can be shy, too, but I'm more heartily driven by my introversion. There was an article recently that detailed the differences between the two, complete with a list of signs to see how you fare. I wasn't surprised to hit all the marks. A lot of people don't get it, honestly. My kids don't. They see me social and bubbly with a select few, and then can't understand why I don't choose to be like that everywhere.

But I'm happy with my own company a lot of the time. I like my quiet. I think a lot of writers are like that, though. It helps to hear the voices of all those characters in your head.