My mom is a beautiful, spirited person. She’s full of laughter, humor, and has the ability to talk to any person she meets in passing. She’s always up for new things and loves to make people laugh. My dad is a self taught businessman. He could sell any random thing with little to no effort. He can speak to someone and know their story in as little as a few minutes. He’s made partners and connected with contributors like it was nothing.

I am very introverted. I find it hard to talk to people, not for lack of trying or desire, but because I’m more inclined to have meaningful conversations with people I’ve made deeper connections with. I have always been more reserved in my family and friend groups. I’ve never liked being in front of others, being the center of attention for any occasion, and I don’t particularly enjoy engaging in small talk.

Growing up with parents who were quite the opposite personality wise was difficult because at the time I didn’t understand the whole introvert-extrovert thing. I couldn’t recognize personality types or their strengths. I felt almost inadequate because I couldn’t hold conversations. I always worried that people would think I was uninterested because I didn’t want to leave my room most of the time. I felt useless because none of the clubs or activities in high school interested me. Most of the time I’d just rather be in my own head.

In my short adulthood, I’ve learned a lot about what makes me happiest. I love forming relationships with people on levels that others haven’t. I love being the person they go to with problems, having one on one conversations and sharing joy with them. I’ve found passion in things that are dead to many of the people I’ve known over the course of my life. Art, literature, music. I enjoy staying home and reading a book much more than going out. I love stringing up my hammock in a secluded spot and writing in a journal. I love to drive just to listen to music as loud as possible in my car. Some day, I’ll probably travel across the country on my own. I love that those things are so personal to me.

My desire to be alone is something that most people around me cannot understand. I’ve come to learn that spending time in your own company helps you grow into yourself more than anything else. You’re forced to examine yourself and in that, you’re able to choose what you love about who you are. You’re able to decide you want something to change, and you have the time you need in order to work on just that. As a result, you become inclined to choose yourself more often. In my own experience, I’ve noticed myself choosing things that bring me joy time and time again. Spending time outdoors, watching the sunrise, painting on back porches, getting banged up at punk shows. Writing down thoughts and prayers, drinking tea in my favorite mug, people watching. Choose yourself once, and those things will start to become more frequent and evident in your life. I am not at all ashamed of the things that I love. They are singular to me in a way that no other person could experience no matter how hard they may try.

So please, let yourself be who you are without feeling shame in it. Let yourself enjoy the simple things. I think that when we begin to lose sight of just how important the smaller things are, we become less excited about life as a whole. I hope that we can all begin to boldly love what we love and let our passions flourish in the midst of the disorder we face each day. We could all use a lot more of the little things.