Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes

by Jessica Pan

I had nowhere to hide. They were here for a party. How long until they left?

You fear giving speeches, team bonding exercises, and every single New Year’s Eve.

The streets had become familiar, but they were, as ever, filled with strangers.

“Nobody waves—but everybody waves back.”

Deep Self holds on to our fears, our hopes, our loves, our insecurities, our dreams. Surface Self is preoccupied with logistics, facts, details, admin.

deep down, that what scares you owns you.

It isn’t facing the beast. It is sedating the beast and tiptoeing around it.

“You aren’t yet the person you are going to be at the end of this,”

When you are struggling with nerves, try to remember why you want to do this,”

Typically, introverts like to be prepared, and I’m no exception.

self-confidence doesn’t find us: we have to push ourselves to do something hard and live through it, and then confidence will eventually follow.

I’d faked confidence and, by doing so, created it.

“The fear of rejection feels worse than the reality.”

Why had it taken me so long to believe that even when these things don’t go perfectly, we can still survive?