Carl Vilhelm Holsoe

Carl Vilhelm Holsoe

Dear Introvert,

You’re terrifying! Yes, you. To an extrovert you are terrifying. I love you, I have befriended you and married you, but that doesn’t mean I completely “get” you. Let me explain why.

The world is said to be a stage; a big extroverted, go-getter free-for-all, where people think, and act, and apologize on the spot. And all the while, the introvert it seems, is sleeping.

I know your not! That’s the thing. You’re actually thinking… And thinking… And thinking some more. Why so much thinking?

It seems as though you should be in a constant state of tortured turmoil. But you introvert, you find peace in the quite and serene, friends among the weeds.

Your thoughts are a mystery to us all. A cumulation of processing and planning, and other things that scare me to death.

Introvert 1

In fact, your responses seem to keep you guessing just as much as they do me! I’m flabbergasted by your inability to formulate a response as you’re hearing the very question. And then the astonishment on your face as I draw my conclusion, in a moment of surprised revelation, would appear as if I’ve pulled a rabbit from my hat. But I ask you, what else does one do while searching for a way to end their sentence?

Where is your thought process headed introvert; veiled beneath layers of grey matter? Why oh why won’t you let me in?

Introvert 2

 

Dear introvert, I know the hamster wheel is turning, it always is. But why aren’t you explaining each turn and course of logic as it turns?  Where are your words? You are a silent story being read in front of me, with only small facial expressions to fill the pictures of blank pages (Oh, and I will.) What are you painting?

When engaged, you withdraw; sulking to the edges of a social gathering, recharging your temporary social batteries. You’ve got the back doors mapped out, the exits memorized, and an excuse waiting on the tip of your tongue.

No, you aren’t a secret agent or high-profile spy. You simply long for the peaceful drive home, where you can once again surrender to the safety of your familiar abode.

Introvert 3

Dear introvert, have mercy on me, an extrovert! Bear with my quick responses and call to action. Allow me to drag you through the mental minefield of my vocalized problem solving.

Try not to shut down completely when accompanying me on a string of social escapades. Understand I’m better redirected than slowed down, and my batteries are often solar (which can be seasonally dangerous!)

Lastly, did I mention I love you in all your nonsensical, tangential, melancholic, and completely confounding behavior? Well, for some reason, I do.

P.S. – Not the last time I will be illogical!

Love,
The Extrovert

Kimberly Cook

Writer, Podcaster, Mother, & Catholic Apologist. Meet Kimberly