I don’t know if you can identify yourself as extrovert or introvert but I know I can. I am almost an extreme introvert. Most introverts probably have a few characteristics of an extrovert as well but I don’t. I am an extrovert in no way at all.
Being an introvert can be really exhausting. Especially since our everyday life is constructed in ways that doesn’t really fit an introvert. You have to be among people all the time, put yourself out there to get ahead, be social and outgoing, maintain a bunch of friendships by keeping in touch and so on. The list is long. Although, being an introvert person doesn’t mean that you don’t like people or don’t enjoy social gatherings, you can absolutely enjoy yourself among people and have a great time with other. It just exhausts you. Very much. If I get a weekend off, like off from being a mom and a wife, I don’t call people or plan to get together with friends. I plan to stay at home. Alone. In a big, quiet house. Because that is what I need to refuel my engine. That is what I enjoy. I would probably even avoid going to the store or interact with the neighbors over the mailbox.
Being an introvert has downsides, sure. For example, I think I’ve hurt people by not keeping in touch with them. I don’t know why that is, I just don’t. I don’t miss people or care very much about what they do or where they go in life. Unless they are very close to me of course. Which very few are. Very few. Except for my family I have like one or two that I’ve kept in touch with my whole life. And we don’t really keep in touch much. We see each other maybe once or twice a year. And that is enough. This doesn’t mean I don’t love people. I do. Of course I do. I’m an introvert, not a monster.
Being an introvert also has upsides. I’m for example very perceptive. Because I’ve spent a lot of time observing, listening, thinking, reflecting and analyzing. I stand in the background and I take it all in. It makes me very capable of seeing patterns, possible solutions to problems and issues needing to be solved. It makes me a very agreeable person who only attracts attention when it is absolutely necessary. It also makes me a person who does not end up in conflicts but rather solve conflicts between others.
The fact that I’m an introvert also has a lot to do with my choice of creative expressions. All creative things I do puts emphasis on the thong that I’m creating, not on myself. I stand in the background while my creations get the attention. I suits me very well.