When the option of Introverts vs. Extroverts was suggested it was immediately thought about being a good idea. Then it was thought who would be interviewed. No thought cam to mind of a person who is always an extrovert even when they hurt or always a introvert when surrounded by friends. That is when the idea of Introverts vs Extroverts is not black and white it is a continuum was born. Many people are in the middle or a variety of ways but about no one is all one or the other.
Many people are extroverts but their friends can tell when they are hurt because being an extrovert makes them loud and happy but when anyone is truly hurt by someone or something they aren’t loud. They it with their thoughts when upset and then there is no room to be loud.
Layla Elliot, senior at Carroll High School, told me she considers herself a introvert which is interesting because she seems to a lot of her close friends to be an extrovert. The belief has come that when introverts are around their friends they aren’t introverts. Being an introvert is very much based on who you are surrounded by at the moment.
This was the way it was seen originally but after interacting with an extrovert with a different opinion than me made me see the at some points it can be black and white. Carter Robin, freshman at Carroll High School, is an extrovert. When asked to interview a introvert, Carter Robin was the first person that was thought of. Carter Robin is a sweetheart who does Show Choir, he is loud and fun. But mostly he is there for everyone all the time, he talks to everyone and makes everyone he has ever met feel welcomed.
Carter Robin has a different view than me. When asked, if he thought that being an introvert and extrovert is black and white or a continuum, he thought of it as black and white.
Robin says that being an extrovert, “Feels like Ying and Yang without one you can’t have the other,” and, “To be one you need something to compare it to, that is where the other one comes in.”
That way of thinking had not been thought deeply into and from his description you can really understand where he was coming from. Even though it is a great idea but the black and white is the two ends of the spectrum.
While there is black and white there are also different shades of gray.
Lindsey Darby, a licensed mental health counselor, who had a very factual answer, “There is a continuum, in fact the MB-TI, a personality assessment, that gives you questions and the answer shows the introverts and extroverts on a scale not a either or.”
She also said that she sees a lot of clients and there is a mixture of extroverts and introverts. She changes the approach she uses when talking an extrovert she directly looks at relationships and boundaries, but for a introvert she would direct the look of their confidence and how they see themselves because “every introvert has pressure on themselves to be an extrovert.”
The definition of an extroversion is “characterized by traits such as sociability, assertiveness, and cheerfulness. Extroverts seek novelty and excitement and enjoy being the center of attention” (Simply Psychology Guy-Evans). Even though extroverts seek attention and excitement they aren’t always like that. When in a bad mood or when experiencing hurt feelings they aren’t always cheerful.
The definition of an introversion is “characterized by reserve, passivity, thoughtfulness, and a preference to keep emotional states private” (Guy-Evans). While introverts keep their thoughts private many of them have a person. A person is to me the one person who you want to tell everything to. With this person it is hard to keep their feelings private so all the introverts that have been talked to that person they share their feelings with.
Everyone has a different definition of extroverts and introverts but when explained many can agree that they are on a spectrum.
