Sarah Shares - PART 3 - TO ALL THE EXTROVERTs

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Que sera Sarah? · Series #SarahShares • Part 3 • To All The Extroverts

Working from home is rough. It's not why I went into teaching and it is not in line with who I am as an individual and especially as an E X T RO V E R T. One of the biggest reasons why I went into teaching is to be surrounded by the students, the educators and everyone in between. Not to sit in front of a computer all day... 

If you're like me, social interaction GIVES you energy. You feel replenished and ignited after talking and spending time with people. Whereas, if you are an introvert, you feel totally drained after interacting with others... Provided that you fall into the same category as me, you might be struggling in the "social" department. 

An article from the NY Times called: Check on an extrovert today, starts off with this... 

"Of course, neither introverts nor extroverts are OK right now. As millions of people face a third month of sheltering at home, it’s become clear that confinement is no paradise even for those who love solitude. "

It's SO true... Nor I or Matthieu (who has always proudly called himself an introvert) are reaping the rewards of this isolation. I've also even seen multiple people who are shared that they THOUGHT they were introverts but in reality, they might be more extroverted than they think. Are you one of those people? I want to know when it clicked? I find that very interesting. 

In these times of adaptations, I have had to find OTHER ways to gain that energy, usually provided by those social interactions, as I can no longer access it from face-face meet ups or conversations (for obvious reasons). Ways I've coped have been through: 

• Twitter chats
• Podcasting conversations
• Phone calls
• Virtual suppers and gathering
• Simply walking around in my community and seeing other human beings! 
• (& sometimes even just watching videos of crowds - LOL I SWEAR I've done this).

Am I missing something? I want to know... How have YOU found energy in this social distancing if you're an extrovert? Comment below ⬇

I didn't think I would be getting accustomed to it as well as I have (at one point I honestly didn't know what I was going to do!), however, I obviously often get those urges to just want to reconnect with my friends, family and colleagues. Because... REAL TALK: Facetime-ing/Zoom-ing and/or Google Meet-ing just don't cut it. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's missing, but it's just not the same. If I to guess.. It would be the actual PEOPLE part of the equation. 

All that being said, don't worry, I am taking the necessary precautions, but the cravings are real. I yearn for the day I can share some good laughs with my girlfriends around an actual table in a real restaurant with decent ambiant chatter around us. (IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?)

But in all honestly, being an extrovert and all, I sometimes worry about the "new normal" we might have to live in for the next while... Masks, distancing, walking off the side walk to cross someone, no hugs or handshakes... What are us francophones going to do - no more kisses on the cheeks?  ​I try not to put too much attention and energy into this because no one​ knows what the futur holds. So, I will just leave that thought there... And check in, in about a year.  

Articles consulted:

https://www.bcm.edu/news/psychiatry-and-behavior/a-new-normal-for-social-interaction 
https://www.mcgill.ca/delve/article/covid-19/six-ways-introverts-and-extroverts-can-make-most-working-isolation
​https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/style/extroverts-introverts-isolation-coronavirus.html