Breaking The Mold

It is sometimes very frustrating to me that we live in a society where being outgoing is valued above just about every other trait. You see a job posting, and what do they want? Someone outgoing. You look at businesses, and who do they want? Leaders. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being outgoing. In fact, being outgoing can be a great quality. But, what people don't recognize, is that being introverted can be just as great. The world needs both of these qualities, yet American society would have you believe that we only need extroverts.

I may have mentioned here before that I read the book Quiet by Susan Cain. Well, I think it bares mentioning again because I can't say how much this book did for me. It made me understand that there is nothing wrong with being quiet, and that introverts actually have many strengths that extroverts do not.

Even though I now know that being introverted is a good thing, I still have to live in a society that believes otherwise. Almost every job, and school, and social setting is geared toward extroverts, and that can make it very difficult for introverts to shine. It is like being a left-handed person in a crowd of right-handed people. You are just as capable, but you do things a little differently. Yet, things are a little harder for you because everything is made for the right-handed people.

I wish more people could recognize the strengths of introverts rather than pushing them to be like the extroverts. Introverts can be extroverted at times, but it is much more physically and mentally taxing for them than it is for more natural extroverts. So they need a break from always trying to fit into the extroverted mold of society. I hope my blog can help spread the word, in some small way, that the world would benefit from more introverted inclusion. And if you haven't read Quiet yet, get on that!

Living Offline

I watched a show the other day about people who are addicted to the internet, and specifically social media. These people could spend 12 to 16 hours on the internet each day. I feel bad for the addiction these people have, but at the same time it makes me feel a little better about my own internet usage. Believe me when I say I know how it feels to get sucked into the hole of endless clicking. In fact, I think most people these days can relate to that. But I am proud of the fact that I make an effort not to let the internet suck me in for hours. And that's what it takes - effort. These days it is so easy to get lost in the virtual world and forget about the real world that is all around you. Sure, the real world can be harsh at times. But it can also be amazing, and you can miss out on that if you are stuck watching funny videos of cats or wishing a happy birthday to someone on Facebook who you were friends with 10 years ago.

While there is a lot to be learned from the internet, I am a firm believer that getting out and experiencing things is the way to go. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something to be said about being present in a moment and experiencing it firsthand with all of your senses. That goes for taking pictures and recording videos as well. It's great to have pictures as mementos, but you loose something when you are constantly behind the lens taking pictures of every moment. You are not truly experiencing the moment, and you end up with millions of pictures that don't mean much to you because all you were thinking about at the moment was getting a good shot.

I suppose it is slightly hypocritical of me to talk about getting out and experiencing things when I am a homebody who prefers curling up with a book or a movie to most other outside activities. But I realize the importance of not getting lost inside myself, and I make an effort to "get out there". I'm not saying I am better than anyone else. I just have my views on what is important and I try to live accordingly. I wish all the best for those internet addicts. I hope they realize what they are missing out on and can find a way to make a change.

Worthless Rambling

I've been wanting to post for a while but it always seems like when I want to write the most is when I can't think of any topic I would want to write about. So I figure if I start typing, something good may come out. Otherwise, I apologize in advance for my worthless rambling.

Summer is here, and while I enjoy the summer time, it never holds quite the joy that it did when I was a kid. Kid summer time means no school, cool vacations, swimming, fireworks, and overall goofing off. Adult summer time means work as always, house chores, yard work, maybe a trip to the pool here or there, maybe a small vacation if you are lucky, a dog who is terrified of fireworks, and absolutely no goofing off. I really don't mind most of my responsibilities, but there is a small sadness in knowing you can never again forget them and be like you were when you were a kid.

Speaking of dogs who are afraid of fireworks, Bear has been doing well, but is all around nervous a lot of the time. I don't remember her being so uptight previously, but maybe it just comes from a combination of the sound of the wind (terrifying), the sound of the construction across the street (terrifying), Mike and I being away from home for a few hours (terrifying), and the fact that she was sick for about a week (overall crummy). Although I would contend that the sickness was just as crummy for me since I had to scrub diarrhea out of the carpet not once but twice, and our whole house smelled like we lived on the inside of a dirty diaper. Who knows, maybe it still smells like that and my sense of smell just gave up.

An employee at the pet store recommended we feed Bear chicken and rice to settle her stomach and while I know Bear didn't feel well, she certainly felt well enough to scarf that down within five seconds. Here is a picture of her eagerly awaiting the preparation of her food, which took about half an hour.

Who couldn't love a face like that? Anyway, we are very happy she is feeling better. Hopefully the rest of the summer will contain less diarrhea scrubbing and more of the fun kid stuff.