Shefali Dhar
An Introvert’s Guide to DC
Shefali Dhar
Fall 2015
SURPRISE! There is no guide for introverts.
Introversion is in dire need of better PR, and I am going to try my hand at explaining why. The terms ‘introvert’ and ‘extrovert’ do not refer to who people are, but how people recharge. An introvert mentally recharges by spending time alone, and loses energy by interacting with other people. An extrovert (you guessed it!) gains energy by interacting with other people and loses it by spending time alone. While that does mean that introverts prefer having themselves for company, it does not necessarily mean that all introverts are shy, lonely, depressed, incapable of functioning socially, etc. It is time people stopped viewing introversion as a social handicap. A less black and white way to view introversion and extroversion would be as a scale of varying shades of grey. Some people fall on various parts of this spectrum, and some people move from one end to the other.
Illustration be Elia Fernandez expressing the depth of an introvert’s mind.
The point is: your place on the scale of introversion/extroversion does not dictate how you interact socially or professionally. It merely dictates how long you interact with people for. For example, when an outgoing introvert needs to take a break to recharge, people start to assume that he or she is upset. This way of thought crosses over from our social lives into the workplace. The professional world appears to favor outgoing extroverts and we are trained from a young age to cater to such an environment. All the advice introverts receive is based on the assumption that they are in need of extra or specialized help. Qualities that encourage prolonged interaction with other people are viewed as fortes. For example, working well in a group (buzzword: teamwork) is likely to get you more endorsements on LinkedIn than working well on your own is. In a city like DC, where young professionals are trafficked in on boats of professional aspirations, it is necessary to understand this distinction. I suppose a more apt title for this post would be DC’s guide to introverts.
Shefali is an International Relations Senior at Pardee School of Global Studies
