The importance of friends can't be overemphasized, as they play a huge role in our lives, such as through companionship, a sense of belonging, support, and sharing experiences and emotions of both laughter and pain, which go on to make our lives meaningful. Yet while many engage in social interactions and make friends effortlessly, as an introvert, the reverse is the case for me, because my mode of doing this is tailored in a nuanced way based on my unique temperament, and today I'll love to share my life experiences with you when it comes to making friends.
Ease of making friends:
For me, it isn't an easy task to make friends because I kind of lack the confidence or the right word to say in a physical gathering that helps me feel at home. Unlike an extrovert who does this easily, I'm the opposite, especially in a physical gathering. In fact, I'm kind of seeking comfort in solitude to interact more freely online than I would in person, and I guess that's why a large percentage of my friends most likely met online.
Walking up to someone and speaking to them freely isn't something I find easy. In most cases, I usually think repeatedly about what I want to say to them and how I'll say it before approaching them, and in most cases, despite all of this in my heart practice of what to say, I end up not even approaching the person at all because the ease of that isn't just there at all.
My approach to making friends:
But that doesn't mean I don't have any physical interaction or only make friends online. One of the key factors that stimulates me to acquire friends in person is when I see someone with whom I've got something in common, like we share the same beliefs, ideologies, or opinions about a subject matter. Colleagues in school and the workplace are another avenue that enhances this, but still, the number of friends I acquire via this medium is very limited.
If it were online, I'd have enough time to study each person, their traits, kind of personality, and much more before interacting with them, and all this is done without the person seeing my face, expression, or difficulty I go through before formulating each word, but overall, a large percentage of the friends I've got were via online interaction, and I've not really had physical interaction with most of them. I guess this is because of my fear of what I'll say in a physical interaction. Like I said earlier, it's easier for me to express my opinion via chatting than in person with words. I don't want to have someone around and run out of words on what to say.
My preference for quality and quantity in friend acquisition:
When it comes to the number of friends I've got or my preference for the number of friends I've acquired and have, I'll say that as an introvert, I'm a big fan of limiting my circle and the number of people I've got around me. I know friends are great and could go a long way to impact my life, but despite that, I'll still love to have quality, limited friends with good attributes who impact my life in the right way rather than a large crowd of friends with less or negative impact.
As an introvert, I cherish and brood deep meaningful connections in my network of friends, a few set of individuals that can resonate and relate to the inner and solitary world, mostly when I call and identify you as a friend. That means I trust you as a person to a large extent and that we've mutual respect and understanding of each other, not someone I share nothing in common with or who has a trait that doesn't relate to my person.
Why?
In a nutshell, the route introverts partake in before making friends is one I can regard as one that went through critical thinking, deep brooding, thinking, and rethinking to ascertain the authenticity of such individuals, because as introverts, the few friends we've got are the closest anyone can get to knowing what's really going on within us, and we won't want to express ourselves, our ideology, our secrets, and many more to someone who'll make us feel vulnerable in the near future.
That's all about my perspective on making friends and the critical things I indulge in when on the lookout for before making friends as an introvert. I hope you find this worthwhile and also learn something from the perspective of an introverted individual.
Thanks so much for your time, and have a wonderful day ahead.
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