{"id":9806,"date":"2017-01-17T11:03:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T16:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=9806"},"modified":"2021-03-18T13:17:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T17:17:37","slug":"introvert-challenged-become-best-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/introvert-challenged-become-best-self\/","title":{"rendered":"How Being An Introvert Has Challenged Me To Become My Best Self"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_9807\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9807\" style=\"width: 384px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9807\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Introvert\u2014Flores-1024x816.png\" alt=\"Introvert illustration by Kevin Flores.\" width=\"384\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Introvert\u2014Flores-1024x816.png 1024w, https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Introvert\u2014Flores-300x239.png 300w, https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Introvert\u2014Flores-768x612.png 768w, https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Introvert\u2014Flores.png 1203w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9807\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">KEVIN FLORES \/ THE REPORTER<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From an early age, I have always known that there was something about me that sets me apart from others. I wasn\u2019t able to acknowledge what made me so \u201cdifferent\u201d until I learned a word that I now realize has been an enormous part of my life and how I interact with others: introvert. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growing up, I was always the kid on the playground who sat alone or brought a book to read during recess. I\u2019ve never been one to have a big group of friends and I find myself craving at least one night every weekend to rest at home in bed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does being an introvert mean that I am not living my life to the fullest? In some respects, yes, however, my introversion has also meant that I excel in other aspects of my life as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to describe what being an introvert means to me, we must first define what being classified as an introvert actually consists of. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Merriam-Webster\u2019s online dictionary<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, \u201cintrovert\u201d is defined as \u201cto turn inward or in upon itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can identify with this definition of introvert, as I have found that I am one to internally reflect and think, rather than actually voicing my opinions and interacting with others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being introverted has always made socializing challenging. Personally, my introversion goes hand and hand with my social anxiety, which made finding a group of friends in high school nearly impossible. After feeling as if I was letting my introversion control my life, I decided to take a chance and quite literally force myself to go out with a group of casual acquaintances from school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it felt off-putting at first, I then realized how much I had been missing by staying home and isolating myself from people who wanted to get to know me. It was that very night in which I found my group of friends, a group that has become one of the best things to ever happen to me. Although some nights I find it difficult to find motivation to leave my bed and be around many people, I have learned that I must take my life into my own hands. Now, I am not completely invalidating being an introvert, as I love many of the qualities that my introversion affords me. Being an introvert has allowed me to sharpen my observation skills, and I find that I often pick up on things that many others seldom realize. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My introversion has also contributed to my love of reading and writing, as my knack for critical thinking and reasoning has become an added bonus academically. Being introverted, with all of its drawbacks, is an amazing thing. It has taught me about who I am and how I see the world. Although being an introvert in an extroverted world can present a challenge, I have learned to look at it as an opportunity to work even harder to become the person that I am today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From an early age, I have always known that there was something about me that sets me apart from others. I wasn\u2019t able to acknowledge what made me so \u201cdifferent\u201d until I learned a word that I now realize has been an enormous part of my life and how I interact with others: introvert. Growing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":411,"featured_media":9807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[2838,2839],"class_list":{"0":"post-9806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-forum","8":"tag-introvert","9":"tag-introversion"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Being An Introvert Has Challenged Me To Become My Best Self<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Madison Monzon reflects upon how her introversion has helped her excel academically and see the world with an analytical eye.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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