A letter from a Introverts to Extroverts During #StayHome

To all the amazing fun-loving extroverts of the world, 

This is a hard time for everyone, but we know it's especially hard for you. You need people and human contact to feel energized and alive. You are the reason why us introverts often have friends, you adopt us shy introverts and bring us into your lives. You push us outside our comfort zones and make sure we have regular human contact. And for that, we will be eternally grateful. 

We are starting to understand you better now. We can see how you must feel on a regular basis, craving connection and noise and vibrancy. (it's just taken us a few weeks to feel it!) We promise that when this is all over we won’t take your last minute invites for granted. We won’t answer your text with “but it's Friday and I’m already in my PJs at 7 pm!”. We will put our pants on and join you at that party, restaurant opening, trivia night you’ve been trying to get us to forever. 

We promise we are trying to answer all your texts, face times, group zoom requests in a timely manner but do remember that we’re still our regular introverted selves! We know how important they are to you but they are so tiring for us and we are doing our best, so please don’t take it personally

Now is a time when we can help you. We can offer advice, we are experts at being alone and staying home, (without you in our lives we would probably do it much more often though) and being quiet with our own thoughts. 

1. Let go of any and all expectations. You no longer HAVE to do anything. Including feeling guilty for not being productive or even being extra productive. 
2. Move things around your house so that it feels extra cozy. Light candles, drape throw blankets on furniture, steal the guest room pillows and put them on your bed for movie night. Make your home feel like the sanctuary it is!
3. Practice sitting silently with your thoughts. Not necessarily meditation but just letting your mind wander. Embrace the weird, the dark and the hilarious You will learn so much about yourself. 
4. Indulge your selfish whims. Want to read a book then after a few pages change your mind and want to bake cookies instead, then get bored and just want to bake one giant cookie then eat that cookie and watch youtube videos? Go for it… see above you don’t HAVE to do anything. 
5. Put your phone away. We know it's hard, that your only human contact lifeline right now! But take it as a challenge to really embrace solitude. It doesn’t have to be for a long time but it does make a difference not being bombarded with information and messages all the time. 

We love you so much and we are here for you and can’t wait until we can be physically together again.