Q: "Why are you so quiet?"

After class one day a bunch of my classmates and I went to a dimly-lit bar beside our school. To be honest I felt slightly hypocritical being at a bar at 2:00pm when I don't generally go to bars to begin with. I felt completely out of place at first and I thought about that show I could be catching up on on Netflix, or that book laying on my side table waiting for me to be read that wonderful Friday afternoon, but as we continued to socialize and build friendships it was actually really enjoyable. I had some interesting conversations to say the least, and I got to become more acquainted with myself when originally I was expecting to get to know my classmates better instead. It would be completely impossible to restate what was all discussed over the loud clatters of glasses and chatters of laughing folks, but midway through a conversation it was noticed that I was being more of a listener than a talker. I was then (un)expectantly asked, "Why are you so quiet?"

This was definitely not the first time that I've been asked this question or had someone make a statement of it, but before that I never really had a good answer for that. I'd usually just shrug my shoulders and say, "I dunno," or I'd give my best performance and proclaim, "I'm not quiet!" (neither of these responses seemed to resonate well or explain my real reasoning behind my quiet demeanor).

If there are any other "quiet people" reading this, I'm sure you can understand where I am coming from. I think that one of the biggest misconceptions is that being quiet and being shy are the same things when it really isn't. I don't mind being in front of a large crowd performing or speaking or whatever it is that I'm doing, and I'm not afraid of talking to people that I'm not so familiar with, so if I'm not shy then why am I quiet? I tried explaining this to a handful of my classmates that afternoon at the bar. If I'm not saying anything it's probably one of two reasons:

1. I don't have anything important to say on the current subject (quality above quantity?),
2. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to know my every thought if it's not inquired.

This is probably the part where anyone reading this assumes that I'm on some antisocial high horse and I enjoy scowling down at people who love talking about themselves. Alas, that is not the case. If there is anything out of this whole post that I want you to remember about me, this would be it:

"Just because I don't talk about it, it doesn't mean it's nonexistent. If you want to know something about me, you have to ask me about it directly. I tend to be this way and whether it's good or not, I don't really know how to change it. However, please remember that it doesn't mean I don't want to talk to you or talk about certain things because I'm sure I'd love to! That's just the way I function I guess."

- Actual quote from me cuddled in bed with my laptop.

So.... I hope that cleared up the air a bit. 

Did you know that some of the quietest people have the wildest minds? Just putting that out there.