Sarah Shin

I spend so much time in my head—yes, I am a thinker—that I can’t help but dream up wacky, silly, or cool ideas. At times, my mind is a glorious place of creativity and belief in myself, and other times, it is a deadly minefield of self-defeating thoughts.

I grew up with two older sisters who are four and five years older than me. As a child, I spent much of my time alone, playing in the snow, creating a mini ice-skating rink to skate around, or inventing games like the one where I would sell invisible ice cream to my friend in exchange for money made of leaves. In many ways, my introversion initiated my imagination to be unbound…until I got older and started feeling different, like an outsider.

I do have some strikes against me living in the world of an extrovert ideal. I’m typically the only Asian in a sea of predominantly white faces. I’m a woman. And I’m an introvert. Thanks, universe, for these wonderful challenges!

But one thing I know: being an introvert—and perhaps I may be speaking for other introverts—I have an inner introverted ideal to strive to be myself and to know that I’m good just as I am even if I don’t fit any mold.

It took me a long time to see myself this way. And actually as I write this, tears are welling in my eyes. My path has been bittersweet, filled with failures and triumphs. But the biggest gift to me is my acceptance of my true nature and letting go of the belief that something is wrong with me. The cultivation of my introspection and my daily need for solitude allow me to tap into a greater creativity beyond myself that transcends any labels given to me, to us.

So I continue to dream and carry on an inner introverted ideal where I am learning to express myself fully without putting on a face. I love being part of the Quiet Revolution, so much so that my coaching practice is now dedicated to working with introverted women. I even went so far as to create a Meetup group specifically for gifted introverted women, who may or may not know they have beautiful gifts within themselves, to help them shine more of their inner light in a world that desperately needs it!

And if anyone disagrees with us introverts and our perspective…yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.