Perspective Change

Without a doubt, if I were given this prompt a few years ago I'd categorize myself as an introvert. Reading through Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain, three different types of personalities were distinguished; extravert, introvert, and ambivert. A person who enjoys the social setting, whether it’s a raging party or just a large group of friends getting together to study would be an extravert. On the other side of the social spectrum are introverts. People with this type of personality tend to seclude themselves and feel uncomfortable being in large group settings. Then there are those of us that don't fall in either, but seem to have a bit of both personalities. This is referred to as having an ambivert personality. Growing up I didn't have many friends and had poor self-confidence. This led to better grades because I didn't have friends to distract me with parties or hanging out. Therefore, I graduated high school in the upper portion of my class. By the time I reached college, it was a different story. I lost a significant amount of weight and gain more confidence. Needless to say I had a good time my freshmen year transforming from having an introvert personality to having an extravert personality. This change, although fun hurt my grades and I ended up on academic probation for three semesters. I feel as though, like myself many freshmen go through the same issue when finally leaving home and being on “your own” for the first time. Now that I started my junior year, I have gotten into the hang of the “college life” and now would consider myself an ambivert. I enjoy the social scene to hangout with friends, but I also like to set aside time for myself so I can get my work done and keep on top of my grades.