As a Millennial, I feel like I reached the age where I have begun to notice a change in my maturity and independence as I navigate “adulting” & quarantine life due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until a few years ago, I would have always answered extrovert if asked what personality I consider myself to have. Even on job applications, resumes, dating sites, and social media bios my answers give a very extroverted appearance.
However, I noticed a major shift in myself when I was required by my job to work at our Brooklyn, NY campus in the Summer of 2018. Although I was able to make work connections and friends, the majority of my time outside of work was spent by myself.
As a shy and naive suburban raised boy, the experience being in NYC alone was completely terrifying and, in the beginning, very lonely.
After a few weeks of living the independent life in NYC, I began to venture out of my hotel to visit the sights and learned how to spend time with myself (without feeling lonely).
Fast forward to 2020, seven months into quarantine and I’m doing pretty well by myself while I try to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This got me thinking, “maybe I’m not 100% extroverted, maybe I’m also an introvert”. Upon doing further research, I stumbled upon the term and theory of being an Ambivert.
I reached out to two (2) of my closest friends (one is also my sister), Nikki Carmack & Val Rubenstein, to see if they have noticed any changes in their personality traits over the years and how it is affecting them during quarantine:
Do you consider yourself an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert? Why?
NC: I consider myself an ambivert with introverted tendencies. I know I am somewhat of a introvert because I usually need plenty of time to recharge by myself after majority of social interactions.
VR: I consider myself an ambivert because I enjoy others but need time to myself, can be on a team but also work independently, and can process internally or externally.
Would you say that your younger self was also introvert, extrovert, or ambivert? NC: I’d say my younger self was an ambivert with a more extroverted edge. I was selectively more social and outgoing than I am now.
VR: I would say that I was more of an introvert when I was younger. I think there are many factors for this such as confidence level and desire to please others. As an adult I am more confident in social settings which allows me to interact more freely with others and am less inclined to act in a particular manner in order to gain acceptance by others, making it easier to be outgoing.
In your opinion do you think one trait is better than the other? NC: I don’t think one is better than the other. In fact, I think that there are qualities one can learn from another.
VR: I do not think one trait is better than the other, rather each serves a different and useful purpose. Society allows for either of these dominant traits to be successful and a combination/balance of these two together can make for a great team. How did being introvert, extrovert, or ambivert help or hinder you during quarantine? NC: Being an ambivert made it difficult during quarantine because I craved social interaction from time to time, but the more introverted side of me was content with being inside and not engaging with too many people for the most part.
VR: Being slightly introverted helped me during quarantine because I do not find difficulty in being alone. However, my extroverted tendencies also were reflected where I found myself getting cabin fever after not socializing for extended periods of time.
*Still in quarantine? Check out Bloomberg.com’s “The Introverts’ and Extroverts’ Guide to Thriving in a Lockdown” for tips on how to survive the ongoing pandemic quarantine*
Do you think age/time or life experiences is a bigger factor for those that considered themselves one way but now think they are another? NC: I absolutely agree. I think that the more I have experienced throughout my life has in a way made me realize that I have become more reserved; not in a bad way, but more selective with how I spend my time and being more comfortable with being by myself.
VR: I believe life experiences and age/time completely mold and shape how you turn out to be. However, I also believe these states are in a constant flux throughout your entire life and you can change from one day to the next.
To finally get an answer to our personality questions, Nikki & I decided to take an online quiz to see what personality variation we really are. Here are the results to the quiz we took:
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