Introverts Don’t Want the World—They Just Want a Little Respect

The typical introvert is really only asking for a little respect—and not much more—from the world around them.

A dear, caring friend of mine sent me a depressing text a while back:

I have a great friend at work who is trying to get through high school as an introvert. I have been talking with her about you. She is not on Facebook. Is there another way she can follow you?

I wrote back to my friend and said that yes, of course, the girl could visit my website and check out my blog there.

I also said I’d send the girl a care package, with my book The Introvert Manifesto, my “Introvert’s Bill of Rights” poster, and a note of support inside.

“If you tell me a bit about Julia [not her real name],” I said to my friend, “and what she could use for encouragement etc., please do.”

That’s when my friend revealed the true extent of the bullshit this kid is dealing with—simply (though not solely) because she’s an introvert, and she’s committing the heinous crime 
of being herself.

Or at least trying 
to be, as a 16- or 17-year-old kid in today’s high school scene.

An Introvert’s “Crimes”

Here’s what my friend said about the girl:

Julia has the biggest heart and is 
so loving and kind. Her biggest issue is people telling her she is boring, 
never does anything, etc. because she doesn’t like to be in crowds where 
 people are being cruel and mean 
to each other.

She is actually going to [a nearby community college] this year as a 
 junior because she hates being in the high school where snotty girls video her, post it on social media, and make fun of her just for sitting down and having lunch. …

Julia is a fun-loving person who just prefers smaller groups with the people who are true friends.

First of all, God bless my friend for reaching out to this girl and standing up for her (neither of which is surprising, by the way).

But my friend’s text about Julia came at a time when I’ve already been doing a lot of thinking about what I do each day, each week, each month, each year, and how I can be most helpful to people—especially people like Julia—who are introverts and who want not to merely survive in the world, but thrive in it.

A Little Respect

As I sit at my dad’s old desk 
writing this piece, I’m next to a small file drawer.

Inside that drawer, at the front, is a binder I’ve labeled “Introverts & Shame.”

This file is bursting with hundreds—hundreds—of articles I’ve collected over the last few years, all of them written by other Julias in this world; other people who get shit simply for being introverts, and who often end up giving themselves shit for it as well.

What do they all need?

Just one thing.

Respect.

Why is that so much to ask?