Connections and Conditions

I have been pondering whether I am a social person or not for a while now for the Hive Naija Prompts. I do not feel drawn to so many activities that involve people, and I enjoy my space, time, and privacy a lot. I know for myself that I keep to myself in most cases. And that makes me think of myself as less of a social person.

When I look into my personality and outside of certain social constructs, however, I realise certain truths about myself that contradict my thoughts of being a non-social person.

I do not in any way consider myself to be shy. I may come off as reserved, especially at first encounters, but I am a confident person. Interacting with people isn't always my first instinct, but when the necessity arises, I try to put my personality out there and try to interact in the best way I can. And I often enjoy doing it.

"Putting myself out there" is something that I have been learning about and its importance in interacting with people for some time now. There are valuable connections that can be made by letting people in on your values, personality, and uniqueness, rather than just keeping to oneself ever so often.

And so when I am interacting with people these days, I let myself loose and show out the safe things about myself. I am usually witty, conversational, and engaging, especially when I am actively investing in my interactions. That has allowed me to make a lot of friends so far, as well as different circles of friends.

Now, there are certain limits to being social. With social interactions that would be physically and mentally demanding for me, I am most likely to be uninterested in them. And, especially when there are even slightly higher priorities in line, I would rather not attend them and focus on those priorities.

I have spent more than seven months here, in a place far away from home, in service to my country as a corporal. And in all of my time here, I have only been to two parties, of all the numerous parties with my colleagues attending them.

For the reason that I often enjoy my own space and privacy and that I have been more involved with a lot of demanding activities lately, I missed out on those parties. At some point, I felt that I might actually be a non-social person. When, in reality, I was missing the mark on what it really means to be social,.

To be social doesn't necessarily mean constantly attending parties or social gatherings. I think it's finding a balance between what works for one and engaging in interactions that are meaningful and aligned with one's values.

Being social means simply enjoying and actively seeking social interactions with others. And I consider myself social—or rather, selectively social. It depends on circumstances and certain conditions.

Priorities should be set right, and I consider that important. And so I am usually social, but the interactions I make mustn't be draining or pointless, and they shouldn't infringe on my personal values.

Inasmuch as I do not exactly like to travel, I do fancy being in new places, and it's just being in motion that's the issue. With all things being equal, I am usually down for social interactions. And that allows me to be present for people and the relationship I have with them when I need to.

In the grand scheme of things, I think I am generally a mixture of introverts and extroverts. I exhibit the part of me that's necessary in certain situations. Notwithstanding, I am a down-to-earth person and social in some ways.

_{This post was inspired by the Hive Naija Weekly Prompts, Edition 36. Take a look and find gem topics you might be interested in.}