I was asked recently one thing about me that would surprise people. The answer was that I was very shy when I was young. I had a group of friends and played with them, but I didn’t do much of the talking. I often preferred to be reading than interacting with others.
Oh, how that has changed! I can pinpoint middle school as the time I started to come out of the shell, largely due to being on the student council and having to take a leadership role in some activities.
Extrovert is certainly a term that describes me. When we visited Colorado, this was on full display once again. I don’t care if we’ve never met; if you and I are standing somewhere, I’m likely to prod you into conversation.
This really came through in our visit to Coors Field. As I looked at the hail on the outfield, I asked a vendor about how they would deal with it. He gave some theories and then noticed my Minnesota Twins shirt. I also had an NRHEG Panthers jacket on, and that led to another facet of our discussion since I was repping my high school, my state, and I also had a Rockies hat on that I’d purchased.
When we left the game and were waiting in line for the courtesy shuttle to return us to our car, I started talking to a gentleman about how nice the stadium was but how the parking was so terribly far away. I learned a lot in the next 15 minutes as we waited. I found out how quickly Denver is growing and how most of the influx is from California. I learned that Colorado’s governor now is gay or the previous one was gay; that was unclear. This guy liked to spend weeks in the mountains, away from the city. We fit a lot of talking into that time frame!
Why are some of us extroverts and others introverts? I asked Google about this and found out that much of it is genetic, in our DNA. That makes sense since my dad is very gregarious. Scientists have discovered that introverts have a higher blood flow to the frontal lobe of their brains, the area that helps you plan and remember things.
There’s also the chemical dopamine in our brains. This turns on the reward-seeking and pleasure-seeking parts of the brain. According to my research, extroverts get an excited buzz from a dopamine release, whereas introverts tend to feel run down when that happens. So while I get that nice buzz while talking to someone, an introvert might not welcome that since it brings them down a bit.
Most people fall along the scale and can show signs of either side of the coin. For instance, a person might enjoy the company of friends and laugh and talk with them. However, interacting with someone new is not a fun experience.
While attending graduation parties this year, I met a gentleman who said he enjoyed my column. We talked for probably ten minutes, and I enjoyed the conversation. I might never see him again, and if I do, I’ll likely not remember his name because I’m bad at that until I see you regularly. But it was a fun encounter and is something I enjoy when it happens.
I was also interviewed for a podcast recently. The host is a 12-year-old boy from Florida who makes me look downright shy! If you want to look up The Tiberius Show on YouTube, you’ll see what I mean. (I’m not sure when my episode will air yet. He was working ahead over summer break.)
This is another area extroverts enjoy: answering questions. You can see, while watching professional athletes get interviewed, how many of them just don’t like doing that. It could be a natural part of leaning more toward being introverted. Or maybe they’re just annoyed by the same old questions!
I listened to a podcast recently where the guest was a sports talk radio show host from New York. He had been doing his job for a long time. When asked if he was planning on retiring, he said, “Retire from what? Talking? That’s what I do for a living!” A good point! I’ve always said that even when I retire from teaching, if my voice is still good, I’ll keep announcing games. After all, that’s just talking too, right?
If you see me around, don’t be afraid to stop and chat. I welcome the chance to talk and meet new people. But I’ll also understand if you keep walking. That might not be your cup of tea. At the very least, we can wave!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is widdershins, which means in an unfortunate direction, as in, “She realized the conversation was going widdershins when the other person started ranting about politics.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!