"Hey Mr. Tambourine Man..."

 "...play a song for me, I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to..." (Bob Dylan)

Describe my personality...

...oy.

I really don't like describing my personality to others, because I've always feared that there's a great disparity between the way I view myself and the way I come across to everyone else. Oh well, here goes.

I'm an extroverted introvert.

Explanation: Many people find their energy and get "recharged" by being around other people, by conversing with them. These are the extroverts. Then there are those who get their energy and relieve stress by being alone. The introverts.

Essentially, I am an introvert. I don't mind being alone and enjoy many solitary activities such as reading and writing.

On the other hand, I'm not a shut-in. I really enjoy being "out in the world." I love spending time with my family and friends both in small groups and large ones. But when push comes to shove, I can only be surrounded by people for so long before I begin to feel suffocated and need to find some quiet time alone.

So yes, I am both.

Other than that, I would say that I have kind of a quirky personality, but in a very subtle way. Most of the time when I hang out with others, I'm pretty quiet. I enjoy listening to other people talk and laughing at them (oops, I meant with them...).  I know so many people who complain about the fact that they sometimes speak before they think. I can't imagine even being able to do this. If you knew all of the stupid/weird things I say in my head (and then stop myself from saying), you would probably think that I go way beyond quirky. I'm downright strange.

Don't get me wrong though, I do have my more obnoxious moments in the company of others. It's times like those that I try to keep to a minimum. I'm not one to enjoy hearing myself speak and I'm always afraid of saying something wrong (something stupid, meant-to-be-funny-but-not, rude, etc). So yes, I am also very concerned about what other people think about me.

At the same time, however, I'm a pretty optimistic person. I was watching "South Pacific" lately, and in the words of Nellie, "I'm just a cockeyed optimist ... I'm stuck like a dope with a thing called hope and I can't get it out of my heart." It takes quite a bit to make me upset and a lot to make me angry about anything.  I just find way too many things in life to be happy about that it's difficult for me to be completely in despair (this is a great difference from the me several years ago - the one that suffered from depression for so long).

So there you have it.  I'm an introvert that loves spending time with people.  I always worry about saying the right thing and would rather listen to others talk anyway.  I'm very optimistic and not easily put down (wow, I should have just said that and had done with it).