"I am an Introvert"

If my memory serves me right, it's been two or three months now since I completely changed the name written on my blog header: from luiseestrue, which is apparently a combination of my nickname and the title of my old article in a college schoolpaper, to introvinstincts, which is introversion and instincts mixed. I still can't grasp the real reason why I did the transformation but the name concisely describes my personality and unique temperament. I believe that each and every one of us possesses a distinct quality that renders us our own individuality. As human beings, we all need socialization and the ability to communicate or mingle with others of our kind. However, having different personalities also entails different ways of socializing. We can either be introvert or extrovert, that's the rule of the thumb. Basically, we classify those who are more gregarious as extroverts while leaving those who are reserved, shy, and loners under the introversion classification. However, it's not that easy to classify yourself as either extrovert or introvert so I personally searched for an 'introversion test' on the net to back up my suspicions regarding my long-time tendencies to be alone and outside any group contact. Here's is the copy of the results that I got from a simple introversion test:

Introversion Test (Source: http://behavioural-psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/am_i_an_introvert )

As you can see, based on this test, I'm classified as one of the 'highly introverted' individuals upon getting 21 'true' answers out of the 23 possible questions. Whether this test is accurate or not is not an issue for me already because I've long been aware that there's something different about me and it's only lately that I have proven the fact that I possess introversive qualities. I've been in a love/hate relationship with my introvert side because normally, we are expected to mingle with other people and show pakikisama to each people regardless of their social status or personality traits. But for an introvert like me, it's a different story. More often than not, I always prefer to be alone in a calm environment, not because I hate making friends or I'm bad with socializing but being with an overly boisterous and enthusiastic group of people robs me of my inner energy and I end up feeling tired and in extreme need of an ample time alone. In addition to that, I've always been labelled as 'mysterious', 'shy', 'overly reserved', and other names that other introverts like me can relate with. I have few friends, people who are the closest to me and I'm extremely comfortable with, so I'm not a 'human-hater'. It's a personal choice for me not to collect a myriad of friends because I have always believed that only few genuine friends will stick with you through thick and thin, and this is a proven fact based on my experience. People always think I'm 'mysterious' because I'm not the type who is open to everybody, so I think we should learn how to respect diversity in terms of personality. Moreover, being an introvert doesn't necessarily mean that you should be shy and not show any hint of confidence because personally, I have the confidence to speak in front of many people like those other introverts who seem to be extroverts on the outside but have the same 'introversion instincts' as I do. Being alone with myself sometimes give me inner peace but too much introversion, I must admit, sometimes give me an intense feeling of isolation, especially when I don't have any contact with my friends and I'm just alone brooding for something that makes me feel anxious. I think that's one of the downsides of being an introvert. But nothing will happen if I just hate myself and think that it could have been better had I not became an introvert. It's a total waste of energy and time. Perhaps there's a good reason why I turned out to be this way. I have more time to grow as a writer, as a human being, and understand the workings of the world around me. And at this point in time, I'm confident and glad to say that I love being myself and that 'I am an INTROVERT!'