What Introverts Are Not

I’ve been thinking about all the adjectives that have been used to describe me — some to my face but I’m sure many more behind my back. The thing is — most of these are wrong. Some introverts may be some of these things some of the time. But we are rarely always or only these things:

shy
loner
rude
arrogant
inhibited
quiet
self-conscious
bashful
timid
reserved
apprehensive
mysterious
distrustful
cautious
solitary
reclusive
unsocial
guarded
passive
unconfident
isolated

The one quality on this list I’ve actually cultivated a bit is “mysterious.” This may sound harsh, but I kind of use this as a test for people. If they really want to know me and want to work a bit to figure out the mystery, I’m more inclined to think about them as being a close friend. If they aren’t that interested in trying to figure me out, I keep the relationship on a different level. It kind of just helps me to stay “me.”