Introverts Unite!

Image via Incidental Comics

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Two amazing lady bloggers (Excelsior Lady & Witty Title Here) that I follow have started this amazing project/campaign/thingumabob called Introverts Unite! Now those of you that know me are either going to roll your eyes, because you're sick of hearing me discuss the merits and unique traits associated with my breed, or you're going to vehemently deny that I can possibly be introverted.Well to that second set of individuals, guess what?

Just because I’m an introvert doesn't mean…

• That I'm shy! - I don't have a shy a bone in my body. And I love to interact and express myself online!
• That I'm socially awkward! - I'm an introvert, I do not have any form of autism.
• That I'm stuck up! - I don't talk to people because I don't feel involved or have anything of merit to say, I'm not trying to b snobbish!
• That I'm insecure! - I'm just as confident as any other twenty-something female! I have my moments, but I am generally very self-assured.
• That I always want to be alone! - I would go crazy if I never got to socialize.

Being and introvert actually means...

• That I'm physically and mentally exhausted by social interactions.  - My ability to be flooded by people and noises and continue to enjoy it all has a much smaller time frame than the extroverted majority of the population.
• That I need "me" time to refuel. - I cannot completely relax unless I'm totally alone. I need my time to read or play a game to just settle my mind a refuel my tank.
• That I have distinct comfort zones. - I will act much more like myself in places and around people I'm comfortable with. These are people who know the talkative me and who see the softer side of me instead of my type-A defenses and silent demeanor that coworkers and acquaintances experience.

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To get your own badge go here!

I thought I'd compile some of my favorite online resources discussing and explaining exactly what an introvert is:

10 Myths About Introverts

Caring for Your Introvert

Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts

How To Live With Introverts: An Illustrated Guide

The Introvert/Extrovert Hoax In Social Media
RSA Shorts: The Power of Quiet

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So what about you? How many introverts are in your life? Are you one of them? Are you treated the others nicely? We require solitude and it doesn't mean we don't like you! (My husband had to learn this the hard way when we first started dating!)

Obligatory Introduction Post

Hello World!

[Rewritten 04.08.2014]

I'm rewriting this little intro to reflect the nature of what my blog has evolved into. When I first started this blog, it was called No Map Provided and was intended to be a general lifestyle blog. I was a newlywed who was still in school and unemployed who needed an outlet. I'd tried to maintain blogs in the past and had failed due to, what I thought, was having to narrow of a scope. So I set no scope except for my likes, life, and interests and set sail. I was much more disciplined and committed to posting and I gained a small following. 

In late January of 2013 I became a bookseller at the amazing Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia. The story of how I stumbled into the perfect profession for me is convoluted and filled with serendipitous happenstance, but is ultimately thanks to Amanda over at Dead White Guys. As I began learning the ropes of bookselling I began incorporating more bookish posts and news into No Map Provided. Then my mister and I up and moved across the country to Seattle, Washington and I was lucky enough (and pimped out enough by Kelly, the owner of Fountain Bookstore) to score a coveted position at Elliott Bay Book Company.

By the Fall of 2013 I had decided that my career would be with books and bookselling in some capacity and the blog was evolving into being purely a book blog. By early 2014 I had changed the name and url to reflect the dominant posting format, Book Styles. If you're reading this now, know that this is not the original introduction post I ever wrote. It was rewritten on the date above when I started deleted older, irrelevant posts, tweaking formatting issues and really investing myself into making this blog something I was proud of again. I'm a bookseller, my best friends are booksellers or publishers and books are kind of my life. (Besides for my furry children and my amazing husband, natch.)