Introversion.

Extrovert - People who are more energized when around other people.
Introvert - People who are more energized when alone by themselves.

We live in an extrovert's world. At work and at school, group discussions are highly encouraged, in which the guy who talks the most and the loudest is the one everyone listens to. And in general, it is those friendly, sociable types who have the best connections and receive the most admiration from society.

And what about the introverts? Well, they are mostly misunderstood. They are almost always perceived to be shy or anti-social, due to their quiet nature. Well, the truth is, introversion and shyness are two very different things. Being shy means you get nervous or anxious (or something like that) when it comes to social situations. Being introverted means you just prefer not to be in social situations.

Confused? Well, it's not that introverts are afraid of social situations. They can be social, they can deliver great speeches, they can be the life of the party, they can make everyone laugh with hilarious jokes - but only for a short while. Introverts need time to 'recharge' after being involved in a social situation. This is because their energy is somewhat sapped the longer they are with other people, and they need their 'alone time' to re-energize.

And yes, there are introverts who actually are shy and/or anti-social, but that's just a coincidence. There are plenty of introverts who do fine socially.

Introverts are simply wired differently than extroverts. You'll usually find that there's nothing 'wrong' with them, unless of course someone subtly suggests otherwise.

Introverts tend to avoid social situations. Photo courtesy of Yassin Roslan.

There's a reason why God created both extroverts and introverts. We need both to make the world go round.

Introverts

• Bill Gates
• Michael Jordan
• Barack Obama
• Albert Einstein

Extroverts

• Steve Jobs
• Winston Churchill
• Muhammad Ali
• Bill Clinton

As a matter of fact, one isn't usually a pure introvert, or a pure extrovert. Most of us are actually somewhere in between : ambiverts.

During my school years, various teachers have told me to be more sociable. To talk more. To interact more with other people. And not just my teachers neither, some of my friends have said the same as well.

And I don't deny that their advice was for my own good. In fact, I am quite grateful that they took the time to try and help me to live in this world of extroverts.

But when all is said and done, I can't change who I really am. I was born this way. I am an introvert, and I'm proud.