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 |  is paved with good intentions... |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
What is something that most people misunderstand or wrongly assume about you? ~ "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  People assume I'm an extrovert. People who get to know me in a professional capacity usually assume I'm an extrovert. I guess I'm loud, although I don't really see that aspect of myself. I know I have a loud laugh when I give in to it. I usually just smile, but if something really makes me laugh, or if I'm startled into laughing, my laugh is quite loud. I know that my older sister and I have the same laugh, and her laugh is loud and always makes me want to laugh too. I'm always the one who has to ask the awkward questions. Like 'Elle, ask the boss if we can do Christmas lunch on a Friday in town instead of a Saturday night thing like he's organised'. So I do. And so people don't think of me as shy. Not that I categorise myself as shy, because I don't think I am, but I become the office spokesperson. I organise social things, like we recently did a company pot luck dinner with a singalong, and I organised that. And I'm saying 'Now you're doing this and this, and you're doing that, and now it's time for the singing, come along people!' and so people think I'm extroverted. In actual fact, I just love organising things.  When it comes to functions, I'm often considered the hostess, so it's my job to meet and greet people (I did this for seven years running at Oktoberfest for one company I worked for) and then I run around and make sure everything's working as it should. I liaise with the staff doing the catering, etc., and make sure I ask people who are looking lost or whatever if I can help. If people come up and talk to me, I can engage with them in small talk. Also, I can do public speaking. In one job I had to give a speech on behalf of the social club committee to more than 200 staff and their partners. A lot of people, especially introverted people, can't do that kind of thing.My family think I'm extroverted. I know I'm loud when I'm with my family. I wouldn't say I'm the loudest or the bossiest, because I think that actually my sisters and I are all quite alike when we get together. More so the elder one and I. The younger one isn't as loud, although I think she can be the bossiest. Going back to the idea of walking up to people and asking them questions, I have a distinct memory of my mum and my elder sister 'volunteering' me to go up to people to ask if the table near them was free or not. I get volunteered for that kind of thing. And obviously the public speaking. If I hadn't given a speech at my younger sister's wedding, no one from our family would have. It's not like they would have done if they'd been the only option, nope, there just wouldn't have been a speech from our family. Well, Dad would have done one, but he wasn't there. He did a speech at my wedding. I don't remember if he did one at my elder sister's wedding or not. Probably. Dad has no problem with public speaking either, but I think he IS an extrovert. Well, maybe. Actually, I'm not sure. Maybe he's like me.What I find truly hard is going up to people with no purpose. Just to make friends or socialise or make small talk. I can't just waltz up to people and say "Hi, I'm Elle. And you are? Nice to meet you. What are we talking about? Did you see that recent sporting event?" I can't do that. I have to have a purpose in talking to them or it doesn't happen. If I go to a party and I don't know anyone, I'll literally stand on the sidelines and watch. And if I'm with someone I know, I'll shadow them all night. Poor Steve. It took me a long time to understand that being introverted doesn't mean being shy, and being extroverted doesn't mean being loud and outgoing. Although obviously those stereotypes are true in some cases. Steve and Caitie are both loud, outgoing extroverts. Neither Jayden or I are shy, but we're both introverts. We both crave alone time. We're happiest with our noses in a book. Sometimes I think back and wonder how my parents could possibly think I was extroverted when I used to go to my friends' houses and read their books instead of playing with them. But the truth is, I had two sisters who were VERY shy (like painfully so when we were kids) and I wasn't shy at all, and so the contrast made me come across as quite extroverted.I've taken to describing myself as a 'loud introvert'. I said that to a recruitment interviewer once and she thought that was hysterical.  |
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