I love being around people. I love going to my friend's homes just to hang out, paint my nails and watch TV. I love tooling around town with Caleb. I love playing Ultimate Frisbee with out church friends every Monday night and having big worship meetings most Wednesdays.
But I also love being alone.
Today I went to a coffee shop and had lunch, just me and a magazine. I got a couple strange looks from people who couldn't figure out why I was there, who I was waiting for, who felt sorry for me being by myself. I loved it.
If you put stock in such things, my MBTI type is INFJ (find out yours here). The I at the beginning indicates that I'm an introvert. That doesn't mean that I'm antisocial, dislike people, or am unapproachable. It just means that I find peace in being alone, and that I need alone time to reflect and "recharge my batteries."
I think that I've always been this way, but I'm just now letting myself recognize and celebrate it. In high school I was extroverted because I thought I had to be - we moved and I switched high schools right before my junior year, and I felt that I had to be constantly fun and exciting in order not to be forgotten by my new friends who had known each other for years. I still needed alone time, but rarely did I let myself have it.
Thankfully, Caleb is also an introvert, so he understands when I need quiet time. One of the great things about our relationship is that we can be alone with each other - we can be together and be quiet and peaceful and recharge. One more example of how I am blessed, and one more reason to be thankful.
I guess the point of this post is to encourage you to find what energizes you - and do it. If you are the social butterfly of your group and you're constantly exhausted, maybe it's time to go to lunch with just yourself and a book. There's no shame in being introverted, just as there's no shame in being extroverted. It takes all types.
