A gay friend speaks of being "mixed up and unable to mix." You don't have to be gay to relate to that in a big way. I found some interesting web sites about public figures and performers who are introverts. Robert Young, remembered by most of us as the father who always knew best and as kindly Dr. Marcus Welby, was troubled by alcoholism, depression and who knows what other demons. He said he was an introvert in an extrovert profession.
Take away my microphone, keyboard, spotlight, stage, TV camera and an adoring audience and I just want to be alone and quiet. There is none of the party animal in me. My sole involvment in a New Year's Eve Party was when I was playing in a band. That memory does not warm my heart or anythng else. We rode to the job in a VW bus. If you have experienced one of those refrigerators-on-wheels in a Michigan winter, you know whereof I speak.
I am in good company. Fellow introverts are Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Grace Kelly, Steve Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michele Pfeiffer, and Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts cartoons. I suggest that Garrison Keillor also fits in with those who don't fit in.
Steve Martin, that wild and crazy guy, an introvert? So says Dr. Marti Olsen Laney in her book, The introvert Advantage; How to Thrive in an Extrovert World. She has another one, gleaned from her own "mixed marriage," a union of an innie and an outie, The introvert and extrovert in love. Now there is a challenge. Read about her here.
Introverts of the world, unite! Maybe we are Ok and don't need to be fixed.
Introverts United! What an unconventional convention that would be. Fortunately, the Internet can make what seems like a paradox become a possibility.
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