All my life, I’ve been considered the quiet one in my family. The one who would, as a baby, sit quietly as long as I could see other people. I didn’t have to talk and didn’t really need to play with others.
I like living alone. Prefer it honestly, because my space is my own and I like that.
I’ve always despised small talk. Chitchatting with strangers gives me hives. No one really cares about the weather and talking politics just makes people angry. It’s rare to light on a topic I can carry on an extended conversation about and that makes social gatherings tough. It makes making friends and being in the dating scene challenging because… small talk. 😭
The trait that made me a good baby, now is interpreted as being antisocial. What? Why??
Being labeled antisocial bothers me though. I’m not, I just hate being volunteered as the person to visit someone in the hospital or do the social task. I don’t mind talking when I need to, but I’m mostly an introvert so those times tend to be extremely draining. I’m a pretty good public speaker, rarely suffer from stage fright if the crowd isn’t overly large, and was a good teacher when I did that for a living so speaking isn’t my problem. In fact, in a one on one setting, I’m happy to blather away on a topic for a while.
I love sitting quietly with someone I love though. That comfortable silence that doesn’t have to be filled. My best friend and I have moments like that. We sit in each other’s presence, doing our own thing, but together. It definitely harkens back to my time as a child, someone’s there and I’m fine with that.
Quiet is good and we treat it look it’s a terrible thing to want it. Well, I rebel against that notion. All hail the quiet, the bringer of silence.
