My Introvert Maybe: It’s not a people-pleaser’s No, it’s a door left ajar

While I’m not flaky — if I tell you I’ll be somewhere, I’ll be there at any cost — anyone who knows me probably reads my “maybe” as a no. If there’s a justifiable reason not to leave my house for an off-schedule peopling, I will find it.

This is not my favorite trait. My “maybe” or “I’m going to try to make it” is not a people-pleaser’s no. It’s more like, “I deeply want to be the person who goes to this event, but I don’t know exactly what to expect from the experience and that jacks up my h...