On Introversion

Every introvert needs to read this old piece by Jonathan Rauch, because he not only speaks to the plight of the introvert but gets at what makes social butterflies so utterly annoying to people like me:

Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. . . . We tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours.

That, in a nutshell, explains most of my difficulties with people over the past decade.  Thank you, Mr. Rauch, for making me realize I am not alone.