Today is World Introvert Day.

–This is a day for the dreamers. The thinkers. The quiet ones. The ones sitting in the back of the room or standing at the edges. The ones who know more than they show and feel more than they let on. -Jenn Granneman; Introvertdear.com

People who know me are usually surprised to find me labeled an introvert. On any personality test I have ever been given I score amazingly high on the introvert scale.

I have learned to compensate in order to survive with my sanity mostly intact. An overstimulated mind in an overly loud world. I hate crowds, love deep meaningful conversations that linger for days over lattes and wine and back to lattes; yet I despise the chit chat and small talk needed to get to that point. I have amazing conversations with my online friends but rarely a decent phone conversation and would prefer to work alone (preferably in a world of my own making.)

At any event I can usually be found checking the time in the back row or in the aisle or in an alcove so I can make a run for it when I am overwhelmed and have had enough.

In a world of “notice me” type A’s the quiet, more thoughtful types are sometimes overlooked or seen as less important. These “back row sitters” are the recorders, the witnesses, the eyes and the ears. They are the ones who hang back and forgo the glory in order to observe and document and preserve.

They are the storytellers and the eye behind the camera lens, the hand that wields the paintbrush and the fingers on the piano keys; the soundtrack to the action. They are content in the shadows making friends with the minutia.

They don’t rush in.

They hang back and ponder and notice and wonder. If the Devil is in the details then introverts are the Beast himself. We will notice your new tie, your recent haircut, your fake smile, they way you pretend everything is alright when our senses tell us that is the furthest thing from the truth. Our survival depends on reading the moods of others and we are still here so our track record is pretty good.

The rest of the world may put us in a corner (which is quieter and therefore fine with us) and forget about us….but we will not forget about the world or our place in it. With lashes lowered to avoid drawing anyone near, we will continue to notice and make note of and preserve all of the little details that assure those around us immortality while we, ourselves fade into the recesses and shadows of history.

So introverts, this day is for us.

It is a day to drive and drive and drive, with the music on and no destination in mind. It is a day to see where the road and the world takes us or just stay in bed and let the world come to us via Netflix.

It is a day to notice and appreciate and validate that the arts and the very fabric of recorded history, exists because of people who took a step back, took a breath in, steadied their racing hearts and noticed. Noticed life in all of its excruciating, painful, wonderful glory. People who noticed, made note, and refused to look away.