If I Would Pick A Phrase To Describe School, I Would Go With Living Hell
Part 4
by Nancy R. Fenn
Page: 1 2 3 4 5
Introverts Love To Read
So many of the introverts I interviewed mentioned that they loved to read! "I liked elementary school," says one, "because it was an escape from my house and the books were available and free." Another said, "I like elementary school. I was shy but I was a very good reader. I learned to read in preschool."
For some it was ok to just be quiet and watch the others. "[School] was ok," says an introvert now in her thirties. "... at recess I usually either played by myself or with my sister and her friend and in the classroom I was pretty quiet and it was interesting since my class misbehaved so it was interesting to observe."
Another introvert, now in high school, found it a little more complicated. "Everything first was a nightmare for me. I'm always worried that I'll do something wrong ... what kind of people I'll be with .... I don't speak much. I prefer just to listen to what everyone has to say. Most of my classmates think that I'm a snob, unapproachable, etc. And before I used to care but now, no way!"
Being Different, A Loner
Mostly for the guys, being a loner seemed "ok". Gary found a terrific way to get even more time alone. "I was always a loner in elementary school," he says. "It wasn't until I was older that I found a way I was comfortable interacting with people I didn't know that well. I had few friends but only felt it was a bad thing when other people pointed it out.
I remember that I often felt overwhelmed in new situations but at the same time my favorite thing to do was get myself lost in the hallways of my seemingly huge school and explore. Getting 'lost' allowed me to explore on my own.
It seems that time alone during the school day is a very precious thing for introverts. Another young man mentioned an interesting approach to his introversion. "I liked elementary school as long as I could be allowed to play alone," he says. "Whenever I was forced to play with others, I tended to become the leader, ironically.
"My theory is that I spent so much time alone that I was able to develop play plans complete with instructions and I noticed that sociable kids had a sort of freeform way of playing which they seemed to enjoy but which would, because of the lack of outlines, devolve into confrontations between them.
"So when I was forced to interact with them, I came with fun ideas of things to do but they were organized and the other kids gravitated towards organized play. Weird, huh?
"I have a feeling that loners often appear to others as self-contained and perhaps organized because we usually have time to think things through until we come up with complete plans. People, I've noticed, like to follow those they perceive as knowing what they're doing." Well, there's a young man who has a lot of self awareness.
Page: 1 2 3 4 5
See more fine articles by Nancy Fenn in our Seers and Sages section and our Coaches and Counselors section.

Nancy R. Fenn is an astrologer and intuitive consultant in the San Diego area. She enjoys working with intuitives, creatives and visionaries to help them discover their vision for the future and their mission in life. She has an international clientele and maintains a website full of
good resources for astrologers of all levels. Nancy is also the Introverts' Coach providing support and resources for the eight different types of introverts. Introversion is a legitimate personality type and not a failure to be an extrovert.
You can find Nancy at: Be My Astrologer, The IntrovertZ Coach, Be My Guide, I Design Webpages.
Nancy invites all introverts to take the Six Weeks' Online Self Discovery Course, a course designed by introverts for introverts. Raise your awareness, heal and understand yourself better, recover your positive identity and raise your self esteem. Click through to: Introverts' Self Discovery Course for more information.