I’m different from the people I know. I tend to prefer my own company to that of others.
The silence doesn’t bother me. To be honest, I actually quite prefer it. Some people crave constant stimulation. I can take it or leave it. More often than not, I prefer to leave it.
In my 20s and early 30s, I loved to spend my time partying it up with big groups of friends. Hanging out almost daily with no less than 10 other people after work was something I always spent my day looking forward to. It was exciting.
Now that I’m older, I try my best to avoid a lot of socialisation. Not because I don’t enjoy it, but because I feel as though it is robbing me of my precious time. Time that I would much rather spend alone with my own thoughts or immersing myself in one of my many hobbies.
It’s not that I don’t like other people, but now that I’m an adult, I find socialising to be quite draining. I need time on my own to decompress after a busy day and recharge my batteries.
Without sufficient alone time, it doesn’t take long before I find myself starting to feel stressed.
After recently having a procedure done on my feet, I am currently on week 9 of working from home and although I really, genuinely love all the people I work with, I can tell you in all honesty that I don’t miss working in the office at all. Not. One. Bit.
Although I really do like my colleagues (they are all lovely, lovely people), I don’t miss chatting about the weekend, or discussing what they made for lunch, or listening to that story about the funny thing their kid did last night.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike having those chats with my colleagues while I’m in the office – if you knew me personally, you’d know that I am a very kind person who genuinely cares about and is nice to everyone – all I’m saying is, I don’t miss it. Not even a little bit.
I much prefer my mornings here at home alone with my coffee, sitting in the silence with nothing but my own thoughts to keep me company. I find it soothing and relaxing. It nourishes my soul – even if some people don’t understand it.
Many people comment that it must be driving me crazy by now, being stuck at home all this time, but it’s really not. I’m still enjoying it just as much now as I was in the very beginning.
The only thing that’s driving me crazy about my current situation is the fact that the weeks are going by so quickly.
It won’t be long until my life goes back to normal and I’m back in the office surrounded by constant chit chat in room full of other people’s energy. A concept that I find quite draining.
I do my best work here at home alone. There are no distractions. It is easier to concentrate. I spend less energy worrying about what’s going on around me, wondering if I brought enough food for the day, or what the traffic will be like on my way home, and more time focused on my work.
Working at home alone for so many weeks has further cemented my belief that the corporate 9-5, urban lifestyle just isn’t for me. I’m doing it out of necessity currently, but it’s not the life I want.
I dream of a life much slower than the one I’m living now. A life where instead of looking out my windows and seeing houses and other people looking back at me, I see raw, wild nature, wide open spaces and bushy wilderness.
My nearest neighbours are our farmyard animals and the all the beautiful, unique native creatures that call this country home.
The street that I live on is a quiet country road as opposed to a bustling suburban thoroughfare.
I have traded my weekly trips to the grocery store for daily trips out to my “backyard supermarket” full of fresh produce that I’ve raised and grown myself.
My 9-5 has been replaced by rewarding chores that enrich my life - growing my own food and tending my abundant garden. Raising livestock. Eating fresh, organic produce. Spending more time in nature. Enjoying the sunshine and filling my lungs with fresh air. Getting the exercise that my body craves and desperately needs. Making homecooked meals from scratch and creating things with my own two hands.
That, is this introvert’s dream.
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