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Introvert

This deployment has given me a chance to see the extent to which I am an introvert. Many people have a mistaken notion of what it means to be an introvert and often put a negative connotation with the word introvert. They associate with someone who is anti-social; however, the merriam-webster definition of introvert is, “to turn inward or in upon itself as a: to concentrate or direct upon oneself.” Whereas a person who is extroverted is rejuvenated through interaction with other people, an introvert is drained by being around many people and re-energized by more solitary activities. That is not to say that an extrovert cannot enjoy time alone and an introvert does not enjoy interaction with others, but there is a inherit need for each person to re-energize in some form or fashion.

I bring all of this up because I have realized me need for time away from others this deployment. Whereas I originally didn’t want to take a couple extra hours off from work each week, after moving to my new office location where I am surrounded by people each day and the extent to which I have to interact with various other people on a daily basis, I’ve found the morning off once a week to be a huge blessing. Today is the second morning off that I’ve taken, with the first being two weeks ago. After my first morning off two Soldiers I work with mentioned to me that I was glowing. My co-workers frequently made that exact same comment about me last deployment the day after I’d taken some time off from work. Not only am I internally re-energized, it amazes me that there is also such a significant change in my appearance after spending a few hours alone.

I’ve set a few guidelines for myself on my time off. Spend some time in prayer and Bible study, no baking, no violin practice for church, get plenty of sleep, avoid crowds as much as possible, try and avoid unnecessary interaction with others, and spend the majority of the time lying in bed. Though I love serving other people and trying to make their lives more enjoyable, I cannot serve them best if I am a grumpy, overly-tired grouch.

This deployment I’ve also made new friends inside and outside of work; however, as my work hours increase my ability to spend time conversing and exchanging emails with my friends has significantly decreased. Though I really enjoy my new friends, I unfortunately have exhausted all of my mental and emotional reserves by the end of the day and have next to nothing left for further interaction, conversation, and sharing of thoughts with my friends. I hope that this changes sometime so that I can once again look forward to conversing with my friends on topics other than work related issues.