YOUR FAVOURITE DISNEY PRINCESS IS AN INTROVERT


I'd like to clarify - I'm not talking about myself in the title, although I'm flattered you'd think that. Thanks pal.

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I was on my way home from a youth camp. The weekend had been an exceptional, exciting, and fulfilling time spent with friends and late night hungerings of onion rings (the food trucks unable to cater to the most important food group). Fellowship is important, and for some strange reason, the best way to do it when you're young is to cram all your mates in a tent and spend four days laughing about camp food and shower queues (or crying, if it's day three and you're covered in mud). After packing up the tents, I was hustled into a van, brimming with new friends, exchanging conversation between randomly placed sleeping bags and lidless bottles of Coke. In the back, the post-camp depression was starting to loom, as the distance from home curtailed and the open road turned into busy traffic with less frequently spaced McDonalds. The grief of leaving my friends was held back by tiredness, but still snuck into my mind and made it sink all the way down to the laces on my converse.

There is always something to hope in, however, and I found that thing, thankfully before I had to say goodbye - saving my youth leader from dealing with an emotional and teary girl who showed a desperate lack of caffeine (sourcing coffee on camp is difficult). I had left an unopened book on my bedside table, desperate to be given attention, and I remembered with quiet elation that I would be able to consume it cover to cover as soon as I got home. It was C.S. Lewis that said: "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." Oh man, do I agree.

It was a moment of self revelation, and trying not to alarm myself, I realized that I look forward to starting a book as much as my best friend's birthday dinner (as long as there's no seafood, I'm down). I lean towards the introverted side of the scale, and my happy place doesn't get much better than a coffee and a place to write, discuss, or dissect my thoughts - often alone (no disrespect to everyone else on the earth plz).

Parties are fun. I love fun. They fill you up when you're with the right people, and those people can make you laugh, but they tug on your stamina and make a nap seem more attractive than Cole Sprouse in any picture taken in either 2016 or 2017. The excuse "I have plans" may literally translate as, I am staying home to alternate between sleeping and enthralling myself in several art forms, and I am not rueful about either. 

Enjoying time alone, not dreading it and feeling like the monk that spent three years in a cave, is an obvious indicator that you might have a bent towards introversion. Another introvert tendency is the dialogue that seamlessly lives in our minds: best described as a personal twitter account that integrates humour, reflection, and deep musings, using minimal caps and a small selection of food emojis. The downside: it often leads to an awkward pause and direct panic when the drive thru operator asks if I'm ready to order (I'm not).

We introverts are an exquisite breed. Leading British Actor and UN activist, Emma Watson, is a self-proclaimed part of our clan, though it might be harder to recognise from all her powerful speeches and polished performances. In a recent press interview for Beauty and the Beast, she insisted: "I'm an introvert. I'd rather be alone than be with people. It took me a long time to understand that - I used to think there was something wrong with me."

I saw Beauty and the Beast in February, and I was stunned by the grace that Emma has when she acts. She keeps you deep observance, clinging to the story like the hand railing on a windswept day. In the same interview, when she was asked how she handles being in front of a camera all day, she revealed: "I need quite a lot of quiet time and time alone, and that is how I put myself together. And if I don't get enough of that, then I start to feel a bit strained," she explains. "I'm a homebody. I potter around, I cook."


"I'm a homebody. I potter around, I cook." - Emma Watson

It's not bad to love your own company, it's actually a blessing, because you'll be spending a lot of time with you in your life. Wonderful things can happen, and often happen, because of your introspective abilities - Emma Watson is an advocate for gender equality, and an UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, shaking up societal prejudice with her UN speech in 2014. Dr Seuss, famed children's author, birthed a large portion of his stories while sitting in a tower (alone) doodling and dreaming of truffula trees and cats that wear hats. Bill Gates, the highly successful co-founder of Microsoft, has been described by his friends as "quiet and bookish, but apparently unfazed by others’ opinions of him: he’s an introvert, but not shy." Things are looking good.

Thought: you are at your best when you are authentic to your self

mads xx


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8 comments:

  1. I can relate to this post - my alone time, whether it's spent reading, making music, journalling or watching TV shows, is just as important (if not more) than spending time with my close friends. If I were to socialise the whole day, I would be extremely drained of energy at the end of it and would have to 'recharge' by spending some time by myself. I used to think that was bad and something wrong with my people skills, but I've come to realise that it's just how I am.

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  2. I LOVED your post! Especially the intro, it made me laugh so hard!

    Have a lovely day,
    xx Kris

    https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com

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  3. Lovely post!
    So can relate haha, loved reading it!
    -Lauryn
    www.ElegantChances.com

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  4. Lol omg I love your newspaper catchphrase so sooo cool :-D 'I like the shoes on you' 'Yes I look good today' !! Makes me wanna sign up :-D !! Thank you so much for sharing this with us! Dominica from London, www.dominicas.uk xXx

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    1. Considered signing myself up 😂 thanks! x

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