Dear______,

I am an introvert. If you don't know what that means, then it's basically a person who generally prefers solitary activities to interacting with large groups of people. This is true for the most part, but we introverts are sadly often mistaken for someone who is shy or "stuck up," and that's not true all the time. We can turn out to be some of the most amazing people or friends you will ever meet in your life, however, there are just a few things you should know about us beforehand.

Be patient with us.

It takes time for us to warm up to new things, whether it be a new job, new adventures and especially, new people. Meeting new people can be hard for us, so when you introduce us to your friends expect us to be on the quiet side. Don’t pressure us to talk if we don’t know what to say, because we’re scared of looking dumb or being judged in front of new people. Also, please don’t tell us to “come out of your shell” or don’t be so quiet. It makes us feel bad. We will say something when we feel comfortable and when we have something good to say. We are very social people with a lot on our mind, just give us time.

We can't stand small talk.

The conversations that consist with "How about this weather we're having?" or "Where are you from?" just turn into a boring conversation for us. We want to talk about something interesting. Tell us your deepest, darkest secrets or let’s talk about life in general. We want to know about your hopes and dreams. We’re also the type of people you can trust with anything you say, and we can talk for hours on end on topics we find interesting, so there will never be a dull moment in the convo.

We cherish alone time.

This is our time where we can feel like ourselves and do what makes us happy. Reading a book, going to the beach or watching Netflix, we prefer doing it all by ourselves (or maybe Netflix with our significant other). Being alone gives us time for our own being and to focus on things we like to do. Don’t get us wrong, we love company just as much as the next person, but we also want to make time for ourselves.

We don’t like to be the center of attention.

All the eyes in the room can be on anyone else as long as it's not us. We prefer to join in on stuff we enjoy talking about, we just don't want to talk about ourselves. We find it hard to find stuff about ourselves that others might be interested in. Plus, sometimes it's hard to put what we're thinking into words when we become put on the spot. Also we're better listeners than we are talkers. Like I said before, you can tell us anything and it will stay just between us.

All in all, there's so much more to us than being labeled as just an introvert. We're the most enjoyable people you will meet in life, if you give us a chance.