Rachel Neathery: Hello Chantilly, and welcome back to The Purple Tide’s “The Wave” podcast. I am your host Rachel Neathery, the Graphics Editor. National Introverts Week is celebrated on the 3rd full week of March, from the 17th to the 22nd. Established as a way to help encourage introverts to be proud of who they are, this week is dedicated to the hidden strengths of introverts, and challenge the stereotypes associated with introversion in our current world, highlighting what makes them so impactful and influential in our current world. Today, I am joined by two guest interviewees. Would you two like to introduce 

yourself and MBTI?

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: Hi, my name is Mathangi Ramakrishan, and I’m an INFP

Seoyeon Lee: My name is Seoyeon Lee and I’m a sophomore. My MBTI is INFJ.

Rachel Neathery: First question is, how has your experience dealing with introversion in your daily lives affected you and maybe others?

Seoyeon Lee: To be honest, I feel like I’m naturally shy, even when I try not to be, so it’s really hard for me to just get out there and, like, say something, I guess, or, like, do something that I’m not comfortable doing. Like, my comfort zone is very small, I would say. Like, that’s part of being an introvert. Like, it’s really hard to step outside of it. But when I do, I feel like it’s really accomplishing. But just, like, daily life, when I first tried checking out at, like, a store, it’s so nerve wracking because you have to speak to the cashier. Like, what if I mess up? Like, all those fears. Like, there’s a lot of social anxiety, I feel like. 

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: So for me, I guess, being an introvert means I get drained, like, if I spend too much time around other people. I feel drained kind of easily by that, especially if they’re not people who are close to me. It also means that, I guess, making friends and talking to new people is, like, kind of like, it’s just kind of out of my comfort zone, and it’s just something that takes getting more used to, I guess.

Rachel Neathery: Like you guys said, comfort zone. Do you think that’s the same as, like, being too shy?

Seoyeon Lee: I wouldn’t say being too shy is the same thing because shy is, like, you’re kind of scared to approach people or new situations, I guess. But, like, comfort zone, it just means, like, what you’re literally comfortable doing. It’s not really the same thing.

Rachel Neathery: And I’ve noticed too, like, one of the stereotypes when I’ve researched about introversion is that people automatically assume that all introverts are shy, and then they correlate that to their comfort zone level. 

Seoyeon Lee: I think there are so many introverts that are not shy. Like, a lot of them just don’t like talking to people. Like, this is kind of stereotypical, but if you see, like, movies, like, those, like, cool smart kids. You know what I mean? Like, smart but not nerdy. Like, those kids are probably all going to be introverts, but they’re not shy. If they’re faced by, like, some kind of question, they would obviously speak of it, like, they would say something smart and impress everyone. Like, I feel like that shouldn’t really be a correlation. 

Rachel Neathery: Next question is how do you think introverts have made an impactful difference compared to extroverts, and how have people reacted to that? 

Seoyeon Lee: Well, I would say, like, probably half the population is an introvert. If you, like, see famous people that have made a big impact, likely half of them are introverts. So I feel like that shouldn’t be, like, a separating factor. And, a lot of introverts are, like, I guess, insightful because they think a little more, I guess, before speaking or making actions compared to extroverts in general. So I think they might be, like, a big part of, like, making solutions and, like, making a change in the world. So I think they’re, like, a really important part of that. 

Rachel Neathery: Yeah. I agree too because everyone kind of has their, like, own world role in the world, I guess. So I think introverts are so much more capable of what they think the stereotypes are, which are just, like, to be quiet. They’re not leaders. Like, you should just be part of the cohort. Like, that’s not that’s not just what introverts should be associated with. I feel like both extroverts and introverts have those same capabilities, and we should acknowledge that. 

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: I also think that, one thing about introverts is I feel like well, with me personally, I mentioned before how I tend to get drained if I’m hanging out with a group of people too long. So I guess from my experience, I feel like introverts are pretty no good at knowing when to disconnect from a situation and when to take a break. And I guess being able to spend more time on our own allows us to, like, not work towards not being influenced by other people’s opinions as much. 

Rachel Neathery: As an introvert too, as an INFJ, I feel like, yeah, energy levels is, like, a big thing as well, I think, for all introverts. I think we can agree on, because there’s a lot of things we can get done by ourselves in our alone time. And I think just because there’s a different way of, you know, recharging doesn’t mean it’s, like, necessarily, like, useless that we’re spending time alone sometimes to do things we want to do. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be with other people sometimes. But at the same time, we also have the capability of, you know, being a part of social groups and, like, playing a role in them when we do. 

Seoyeon Lee: Something about being drained, like, a lot of people talk about their energy levels when they talk about introversion and extroversion. An issue I had with that, I guess, is that for a long time, I couldn’t really figure out what I really got energy from. Like, I feel like when I’m, I don’t know, doing something with my friends, it actually gives me so much energy because it makes me exhilarated. And, like, afterwards, I’m, like, feeling good and in a good mood. So I thought that that was my source of energy, but I also feel like, how I really recharge, I’m still not sure. I think introverts, they just mainly get their energy from their own selves rather than what the outside world can give them. But also, it doesn’t mean that, necessarily if you still like being with people, it doesn’t mean that you’re not an introvert. 

Rachel Neathery: I think, and, Soyeon, you mentioned this before the interview, but, you used to be confused on whether or not you were an extrovert introvert because of this exact reason. Right? 

Seoyeon Lee: Yeah. And, also, when I was younger, I was kind of, like, really hyper in some situations. Like, I was like, some people you would ask. Like, I don’t know. People in my church, like, they would say that I’m the most extroverted person that they know, while some people like, it especially in this school, like, they would just see me, like, walk down the halls, like, literally by myself, like, having, like, a dead expression on my face. They would probably think that I’m, like, super quiet, like, very shy, and, like, the most introverted person that they know. I think you can go both ways. 

Rachel Neathery: Yeah. You really could. And in my experience too, I remember when I first met you, Soyeon, you thought I was an extrovert because I was so, like, very outgoing, willing to connect with others. But then you realize there’s much more to just introversion right there. Like each person, they all have their own way of connecting with others, and that’s not necessarily being socially inept or alone. You know

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: Yeah I think they tend to get misunderstood sometimes because, a lot of people are just- not everyone seems to understand the actual definition of what it means to be an introvert. Like Seoyeon stated before, it doesn’t necessarily mean being really shy. I know for a fact I’m not that shy. I know for a fact that I mean, I’m not the best when it comes to talking to new people, but I wouldn’t say I’m completely shy and reserved either. I also think another part of being misunderstood is I feel like sometimes others don’t understand that when I don’t want to hang out with them, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t mean that I don’t like spending time with them or I don’t like them as a friend. It just means that I just need to step away from them. Sometimes people ask me to do things after school with them, and I just feel like going home because that’s just the way I recharge. 

Seoyeon Lee: Oh, I can totally see that because I think a lot of the time, like, some friends that I really like and I want to hang out with, sometimes, even if I just get a message from them -like I haven’t really felt this way before- but, like, let’s say, like, I get a DM from them. Like, they send me, like, a [instagram] reel, for example. Like, I’d be like, oh, okay. But even though it’s just a text message, sometimes I kind of feel like it’s a little tiring to have to go through, like, mentally process the stuff that they say and then respond to that because that takes mental energy for me. So, like, I guess it’s important for us to step away. That doesn’t mean we don’t like you. 

Rachel Neathery: Yeah. I agree. I really wish people understood that more because it’s not always about them. I think, and this is why the whole point of one zero one to film this podcast is because I wanted people to understand that there’s much more to introversion here.  I don’t think that we necessarily have to compromise ourselves in order to make other people happy. 

Seoyeon Lee: So one difference between extroverts and introverts, I think introverts do a lot of processing in their heads, and then they speak out about it. But extroverts, they kind of form their thoughts while explaining, I guess. Like, that’s kind of, like, a common characteristic. And I think that’s why, like, even as I’m talking right now, I’m trying to process things in my mind, but it doesn’t really happen at the same speed that I’m talking. So it, like, means that I can’t really get my thoughts across very clearly. 

Rachel Neathery: Also, I think we can all agree, three of us. I’ve, like, noticed that we’re all, like, kind of, like, trembling a bit while speaking. 

Seoyeon Lee: We’re pausing a lot because, like, we’re trying to think, but it’s kind of hard to do it on the spot. 

Rachel Neathery: Yeah. I was like, I’ll do this in the post editing. I’ll do this in post editing, but it’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll all get through this introverted podcast. I also want to, like, connect back to, like, being, like, fake in front of other people. Like, I feel like we shouldn’t I think I feel like a lot of introverts or just, like, those who do people please a lot, maybe INFJs or IFPs or, like, Fe types of introverts, we should let other people know also our boundaries sometimes because it can be hard when we’re constantly maybe being a bit of, like, a pushover because we’re just letting them do all the the initiating.

Seoyeon Lee: I think I kind of changed that, like, depending on what I want from that person or, like, their energy levels. Like, if I’m texting an extrovert, like, I would kind of, like, wait for them and, like, depend on their energy. But if I’m texting another shy person, then I know that I’ll have to, like, fill in the missing energy levels to, like, complete a relationship that would actually work.

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: Yeah. Rachel, I really like what you said about setting boundaries. I think sometimes this can be hard to do because sometimes I, well, one thing about my introversion is well, for me, I get like kind of annoyed when I get asked a lot of questions at once. I’m not sure if this is just everyone. So I guess sometimes it’s- but when I  try to figure out how to tell someone that, like, the amount of questions they’re telling me is, like, overwhelming me. Sometimes it just feels a bit dumb, I guess, setting that boundary because it doesn’t seem that important. Like, when I explain it out loud, it doesn’t seem that important. 

Seoyeon Lee: There’s a lot of thought process going behind that answering. 

Rachel Neathery: And my next question is, how do you think introverts make an impact in our society? 

Seoyeon Lee: I think a lot of intellectual people that you hear about, like, a lot of them are introverts. They spend a lot of time thinking, and they, like, try to bring more insights to the world. I think, like, we have a very big role in the world. We can’t be neglected because we do a lot. Like, we do a lot of thinking. If you see, let’s say, like Shakespeare- people type him as an INFP. Like, I don’t know. A lot of big thinkers are introverts. 

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: I agree with that. I also think that, I guess, since introverts, like, naturally want to disconnect from other people at times in order to recharge, they’re able to, it just gives them more idea to form more time for them to form their own ideas and opinions, which can really set them apart from the rest of the world. 

Rachel Neathery: Final question is, how has learning about yourself through these Myers Briggs tests, personality tests, helped you in understanding your personality or connect with others as an introvert or just a person in general? 

Seoyeon Lee: I’m not sure if I’m, like, believing what the internet says about this just because I think that it’s interesting or, like, I want to believe it, but I feel like it does actually apply, like, cognitive functions, if I look into it, it just makes so much sense. And I think that, trying to analyze my own personality and, how I think, I think it has helped me a lot in understanding the way that I process things. But I also don’t know if I’m just, like, trying to understand this and tricking myself into believing that MBTI is, like, real or valid. A lot of people think that it’s like- so my one friend, I was texting him about, like, MBTI, and he was like, isn’t that one of those, like, spirit animal quiz things? And I got so offended because, like, there’s so much research behind this. I guess a legit psychology, like, study, I guess. I still think that it’s helped me a lot in understanding, like, especially the second letter, S (sensing) and N (intuition). Like, understanding that has become, like, really crucial in understanding how I think and how other people think and how I should, like, relate to them in real life. 

Rachel Neathery: There’s much more to MBTI, and not just understanding yourself, like, on some basis. Obviously, I don’t think you should take the stereotypes from the MBTI as true when you read in articles. You should really look into how each function applies to yourself or how you use those functions rather than just trying, like, I guess, trick yourself into thinking you’re this certain type. 

Mathangi Ramakrishnan: I’ve taken the MBTI test a few times just out of curiosity, and I’ve usually gotten about the same result each time. I think I definitely agree that the tests are a good way to take a look, like, and sort of analyze your own personality and understand your own strengths or flaws a bit better. And, well, I guess, it’s, like, helped me analyze how like, why I might have felt a certain way after something happened. I don’t necessarily think it would be helpful for everyone, though, because I know a bunch of other people, like, who took the test multiple times and kept getting different results each time. I also understand that your personality can also change because, hopefully, you don’t stay the same person your whole life. So, you know, people grow and they change. So because of that, I guess, your MBTI personality could get affected by that. And I guess for some people, it seems to cause more confusion than help. But yeah. I agree with that. Yeah. So thank you for listening to the introverts podcast.

Rachel Neathery: Thank you for listening to the introverts podcast.

Seoyeon Lee: Thank you for listening to us speaking very slowly. Very large pauses between words.

Rachel Neathery: We’re very stoic, though. We’re like pondering on our thoughts while speaking. I think that’s unique about us. 

Seoyeon Lee: That’s so insightful. 

Rachel Neathery: We’re nuanced to our thoughts, and we’re trying to think it through. You know? Thank you for listening to the Wave podcast. I’ll see you next episode. Bye.