Apologies for the lengthy response time - I haven't been around these parts for a while.
Whilst I appreciate some social interaction, I'm far from a gregarious individual. I think my job drains me too much, to be honest. I work in an incredibly busy secondary school with ~ 200 staff and ~ 1200 pupils; I'm the main point of contact within my team, so I typically find myself having to deal with a lot of people on a day to day basis. When I get home, I'm usually so exhausted that I have to lie down and have a power nap, after which I need at least a solid hour to myself.
Outside of work I typically keep myself to myself as best I can... which doesn't really pan out for me these days (I'm engaged to a giga-vert). I do enjoy socialising with close friends (obviously) but after say 2-4 hours I'm ready to return to my humble abode and watch TV, surf the web or read a book. Y'know, solitary / low energy activities. Like yourself, I tend to be very quiet when I'm with a lot of people. I may just chat to one or two individuals within the group, or, if I'm with people I simply don't know, I might break the ice to get people chatting and then take a backseat, observing proceedings in a vaguely disconnected manner... or I might just choose to remain in the background full stop. It depends how I'm feeling in the moment.
Do I find purpose or meaning in other people? Sure, I guess. They aren't my main focus, though. Truth be told, I'm pretty shoddy at keeping in touch; even my family members are somewhat neglected by my innate inability to keep up with affairs, or put myself 'out there' to touch base with them. Left to my own devices, I'd quite merrily drift along the stream of life enveloped in a blissful unawareness. Fortunately, my aforementioned fiancee is teaching me how to anchor myself in the moment, so I am getting better. Er, slowly.



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