Being an Ambivert in an Extroverted and Introverted World

Have you ever wondered what is in between being an extrovert and an introvert? Well, today we talk about being an ambivert.

Do you ever feel either wildly outgoing or utterly quiet and want to keep to yourself? You’re not necessarily an introvert because you love social interaction, but you’re also not an extrovert because you don’t love attention and have a waning social battery. If you check any of these boxes, you might be an ambivert, like me. Let’s talk about it.

Most people have heard the terms extrovert and introvert, but very rarely do people hear the term ambivert. The Oxford dictionary defines an ambivert as a person who exhibits a balance of extrovert and introvert traits.

I’m going, to be honest with you guys here. I’m probably like most people in this world: a true ambivert. I like being around people and meeting fun personalities, but I also like being in the comfort of my warm bed watching reruns of my childhood TV shows and movies on repeat. 

I think this became especially prevalent when I started college. I was more of an introvert in high school, but for some odd reason, I’ve gone from wanting to stay in and recharge my social battery on the weekends to get ready for the week ahead to hanging out and going to the mall or creating huge study groups.

You can pretty much take me anywhere, stick me in any social setting, and more than likely, I’ll find a way to have a good time. While I may not be the most outgoing person in a crowd of people that I do not know, I’ll still find my place and enjoy the experience. I usually find satisfaction in going out of my comfort zone, though it’s been hard to achieve this during the pandemic. Occasionally, I will choose to stay home, but that doesn’t mean I’m not equally as comfortable with going out. I just simply don’t want to, and that has nothing to do with the company I would be keeping. 

Sometimes I can seem a little standoffish, but that is only when you first get to know me. Other times I can just tell that someone and I are just going to click, and I will tell them all my secrets. Not at once — that would be crazy — but over time.

Sometimes I do wonder what I would be like if I was either one or not a mixture of both. What would change, how would people perceive me, would I make friends easier, or would it be more of a challenge? 

Who knows, over time I could become an extrovert or an introvert, but I think right now I am happy being an ambivert.