My Social Construction

Society and our own individual situations have a huge influence on who we all have become. I have this want to fit in, not necessarily to be normal but to just fit in. Some people may have be socially constructed to be reserved or outgoing but I see myself as more complex than a simple answer. My social construction is geared toward being introverted and quiet around those I'm not close to and crazy towards those that I'm familiar with. The people I'm around aren't the only thing that influences how I act, it is also the situation, I could be in a situation where I don't know the people in yet I find myself being loud and enthusiastic whereas I could be surrounded by people I know in another situation and not want to speak up. I think this all comes back around to the fitting in point.

I have a tendency to be very quiet in areas that I don't know many people like class or in situations that I don't feel comfortable. Oftentimes I find myself reading a book instead of reaching out to people around me or just simply staying quiet. I know that this can come off as standoffish, like I don't have the time of day to waste on these people. I try to work on reaching out to everybody but it can be easier to just curl back up into my shell. On the other hand I have this personality that is released around my friends that sometimes can't be contained. Get me in a room with my friends and we can get pretty weird, which seen from some perspectives can be overwhelming and others as funny. I try to get people to laugh generally, but only around people that I'm comfortable with. On other occasions when I'm not trying to fit in with those I don't know or do know, I just forget about how I normally act around certain groups and find this area between the quiet introvert and the extreme extrovert. I think when people see this attitude of not letting others affect you encourages them and helps them to not worry so much about what society thinks.

Some balance of quiet and loud is where I try to find myself but I'm a person who has grown up with society telling me what is acceptable, what's not acceptable, and sometime who I am or should be, so it can be difficult to find that balance. In the meantime I embrace who I am constructed to be whether it is around my family, friends or strangers.