What classifies someone as an extravert? Is it their endless conversations with various people per day, or their natural craving for human interaction?
What classifies someone as an introvert? Is it their shy nature, or the lonely kid you see in the hallway?
Regardless of which of these statements you most relate to, your overall behaviour in various environments determines where you lie on the introvert-extravert scale.
Think of the typical interactions you have with your friends. Do they include stomach-cramping laughter and endless inside jokes, crafted from your shared experiences? This may serve as news to many, but more than a third of the world's population are introverts, which means that one out of every two or three of your friends accounts for this. Now think back to those interactions. Surprised?
The vast majority of school environment sets up a workspace that constantly has the need for collaboration within the classroom. In addition to this, our school report cards are constructed with two entire sections in our Approaches To Learning (ATLs), that are dedicated to both our collaboration and communication. These qualities come more naturally to extraverts. Introverts are also very capable of mastering these skills, but they thrive in an environment which surrounds them with people they are more comfortable with. Students can agree that when it comes to grades, students and to an extent, teachers, have built an environment that pressures us to consistently achieve the ‘top band’, also known as a level 7. However when it comes to ATLs, there are many more aspects that come into play, more specifically our own human nature.
Each and every one of our brains are wired in a completely different way, causing all introverts and extroverts to react uniquely to different social stimulations. Take a class debate as an example. Being a more introverted person myself, I have on several occasions been stuck in my seat, with what I believe is a great point to contribute to the discussion in my head. Yet there are constant thoughts that run through my head. Is my point valid? Because of this, my mind questions me whether I should speak up at all. The opportunity passes, and I feel a sour tinge of regret in my mind. My previously indecisive brain blames me for my silence, because of my own internal debate running through my mind.
This is one out of the countless situations I have been in, all involving identical thoughts running through my mind - too much thinking, and less saying. But I feel like this should be emphasized very clearly - no one should ever be judged by their social interactions. Think about it this way - If you are someone who does not know another individual well, and you notice they aren’t very outgoing - they most likely behave in a completely opposite way in an environment they are comfortable with.
Extraverts and introverts regain their energy in different ways. Extraverts recharge by engaging in interactions with other people, whereas introverts prefer a more low-key environment, whether this is with their friends, or alone. In addition to this, introverts tend to think before they speak, whereas extroverts think as they are speaking. As an introvert, I have learned one crucial thing, which is to learn to accept who I am in social situations. Sometimes you cannot control the thinking in the back of your head. If, as an introvert, you are reading this, I deeply believe that if you want to feel the most comfortable you can in your skin, then you should learn to accept your own human nature too. While the categorization of extroverts and introverts can help find people similar to us, ultimately, we all think and behave differently from one another as humans, and remaining comfortable in our own skin is what’s really the most important thing.
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