As a child and teenager, I was particularly remembered for
my outgoing personality. I was friends
with everyone in high school. I was involved in many different organizations
and would be recognized with a leader position in the group. When it was the
first day of school for a new student, I would be the girl helping the student
learn their way around the building. I gave many public speeches in front of
thousands of people because I enjoyed it. I was the really nice girl in high
school. Not only would I consider myself an extrovert at this time, everyone
who knew me or was an acquaintance may say the same. But things have changed since high school, I
went the path less traveled with potholes and no matter how you try to avoid
them you still manage to hit one. You know the road you would never dream taking
your 2014 Cadillac down.
I began my college career at the well-known university
Penn State. I loved it for the first year and the second year rolled around I
noticed myself changing. I began to not talk to friends, I started getting
irritated by other people, I would give a speech only if I really had to, and I
would only talk to my family and boyfriend. Since then I have transferred to
Mansfield and feel more comfortable. I wouldn't say that I am loyally an
introvert because I am slowly coming back around to my extrovert side. I would
not consider myself to be an ambivert either because I am noticing progress
again. I feel that when we get lost we truly find ourselves on the way back to
the asphalt road.
While reading Quiet, I have been able to better
understand why I may have switched characteristics. “Extroverted leaders… may
wish to adopt a more reserved, quiet style (p. 58).” Which this stands true in
my case, it took me reading the second passage on page 58 to realize that this
extrovert needed the quiet introvert style for a little while. So far this book
is a great read and I cannot wait to continue reading it.
Charlie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely how fascinating this book is! I just couldn't put it down. I also agree with you that people can change characteristics. I understand you situation and where your coming from but I am the exact opposite of you. When I was younger, I was also more reserved and hated trying new things. I hated public speaking and used to think it was complete torture when I was younger. But as soon as I had gone to college, I became so outgoing. I ended up loving my oral communications class and I actually ended up looking forward to making speeches and giving them. I do believe the fact that I knew not one person here at Mansfield when I started as a freshman really made me grow up and take the initiative to meeting new people and having a lot of friends. Now, I am so thankful for the change because I have found so many great friends that will turn into life-long friends in the long run. I have also done so many things I wouldn't have done in high-school such as join clubs and playing intramural sports. My change was wonderful and I am glad it happened.
Sounds to me like you had a little identity crisis on your transition to college. I can agree with you there that it was a big jump for me as well. While in high school you can feel like you’re the big fish in a small pond and all the other fish look to you for guidance. Now in college it can be more like all those big fish from other small ponds came together in one big lake. I’m glad to hear that you are pushing back to your old self and sometime it’s OK to switch between modes. I know I've done it plenty of times.
ReplyDelete