Firstly I'd really like to thank my agent ... no, hang on, that's wrong, I'm getting mixed up with my Oscar acceptance speech again ... no, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to leave a comment on my previous post about creating our online identities. And such interesting comments at that!
I've not been feeling like blogging much lately and yet suddenly, with that post, the blogging muse reappeared and it poured out. Yet I had wondered whether anyone would really want to read my thoughts about psychology lectures and parts of pigeons ... but fortunately some of you did. Which was good to know!
When I began blogging I always said I wanted it to be about more than telling people how to stick one piece of paper to another ... so when I get such positive, engaged, feedback from a post like that ... it feels good.
It feels like what I'd like to do more of in fact. So ... let me do just that ... with a little help from the body of a tortoise and a head that reminds me of Virginia Woolf:
Now, as much as I could now go off into a reverie about this and write a whole post about introversion ... I'll resist [for today at least] and instead relate it to what we were previously discussing about online identities because, for me, the two things are closely connected.
- I get to share and communicate from the comfort of my own home;
- I get to share and communicate through the written word;
- It allows me to choose, craft and to present what I want to share it in my own time, with nothing to fluster me or make me change my mind and decide to keep quiet instead;
- It allows me to connect with lots of people, with you, at my own pace and in relaxed surroundings. Heck, sometimes I'm in bed listening to Radio 3, when I blog [and I've never been to many social gatherings where pyjamas and Rhapsody in Blue were the preferred attire/entertainment ... and if they were ... I might go to more parties ....]
- despite some people misinterpreting 'quiet' for 'shy' or even 'antisocial' ... us introverts like people. A lot.
- We honestly, truly, do like talking ... just maybe not as part of a group [although presenting / official speaking I'm OK with ... but informal stuff .... not so much. I've always been aware of the contradiction that when I was little my school calle dme 'quiet' .... while my family called me 'chatterbox'.]
- And to me blogging, which is just chatting to you, here and now, is just like my most comfortable kind of conversations: one-to-one ones!
And if it gets you to think about yourself, or others, in a different light ... then all the better!
If you're interested in reading more on the topic ... there's a wealth of information out there .. on the good old internet but tomorrow I'll share a great video I found on the subject and a few other links too. But, until then, who's up for a spot of quiet introspection in their 'jamas? Anyone?
Julie x
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Just putting my PJs in a bag, looking for the Gershwin, and I'm on my way - I so want to see that lovely page IRL. Can you put the kettle on? I'll camp outside in my car till we get used to each other. :)
ReplyDeleteIs it OK if I comment now, even though I'm still in my jeans and jumper? I'll be having a bath soon and will put on my pyjamas then (after rather than during, obviously....) so can come back later...? OK, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with me (and just me, of course, at this precise time, though you may well have shared it just with one other person at another time, and perhaps just one other at a different time, etc). Yes, I too am an introvert and can be quiet in company. If I'm not being quiet then I might be being a different 'me'. So blogging is a great way to talk in a way that feels safe and secure and friendly :)
it's good to read a little about you x
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing yoga pants and a comfy top, what I called "PJs for possibly going outside". I've played cards with basically the same 9 people once a month for 5 years now & am only just getting around to being 'chatty' during our games. Everyone always says I am a quiet one who suddenly reminds you I am there by saying something outrageous or funny and then I go silent again. Apparently that makes me a 'great listener' too.
ReplyDeleteFrom one introvert in her pjs to another I totally agree that blogging is perfect forum for us Introverts to connect with the outside world.
ReplyDeleteI think the internet is the perfect place for introverts because we do have a lot to say and share, we just want to do it within our comfort zones. I also love love love this page you made. I don't comment very often, but I'm quite the lurker and your turtle is my new favorite thing I've seen from you. In fact, I'm planning on stealing the idea for a doodle.
ReplyDeleteI love the emphasis on the written word. I enjoy focusing on writing at least a few times a month on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI think of myself as shy, but I'm told that i'm really not.
Rinda
yes, yes, yes. I particularly like your second last point and wish it were widely understood by the non intorvert. I have a good friend whose wife has worked out that 6 is his magic number - any group of 6 or less and he is chatty but add just one more person and he retreats into his shell.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am with you as well Julie, well spotted and 'analysed'. For my job I have no problem do a training course all day with a group of people, I am told I am good at it, they enjoy it and I sometimes make them laugh. So wierd then that the thought of the staff party in which I have to sit down and eat with fellow colleagues "not in the staffroom" and make small talk? Well I am almost beside myself already. No doubt I shall drink more wime than is good for me and become garrulous and my cover will remain in place.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, My name's Julie and I've just discovered I too am an introvert! A PJ wearing,social event hiding indecisive introvert.
ReplyDeleteMy hand is up waving too - I am most certainly an introvert and I realised it a little while ago. Thanks for publishing all of these wonderful posts, it's made me feel a little better and also inspired me to write some more about the topic!
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