The loud and lonely

          Now-a-days everybody is talking about introverts.  You see all these articles and YouTube videos titled “10 reasons it’s better to be introverted” and “misconceptions about introverts” or “why introverts make better friends”.  But, when people do talk about extroverts it’s usually in a bad way, “10 things extroverts do that people find annoying” and “why extroverts should be quiet”.  But ya know, extroverts have struggles too!  Extroverts always feel left out because no one recognizes them and their struggles.  We get shy too.  Don’t think that because we’re talkative that means we’re comfortable in social situations 100% of the time. We may be outgoing and loud, but we feel insecure too.  We always feel like we’re being loud and obnoxious.  And by what you say about them, they think that’s true!  They feel that they talk too much and that no one’s listening to them.  They feel that just because they’re talkative, they have nothing important to say.

          Even though we are surrounded by people most of the time, we get lonely too.  We feel like all of our friends are sticking with us out of pity, or that they don’t want to hurt our feelings by breaking off the relationship.  Extroverts feel like they’re pressured to be the conversation driver because it seems no one wants to talk to them.  They feel as if they have no value just because they happen to like talking.  They feel like they’re just a nuisance.  They feel that if they don’t talk, all their friends will leave them.

          I’ve been called things like “loud mouth” and “obnoxious twit”.  I’ve had things like “you don’t get lonely, you’re an extrovert” and “you don’t understand social awkwardness, you’re an extrovert!” said to me (even though I am an ambivert, not an extrovert). 

          Don’t call extroverts mean names and think that they’ll just '"brush it off" as if it’s nothing.  Don’t put them in awkward or difficult situations thinking they can “handle it”.  Don’t expect them to talk if we don’t want to.  Extroverts have struggles too.  They’re human too, after all.  We all are.