An Extrovert Thanks to Finland and Travel

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I have always been very good at being an introvert. I am perfectly content with hibernating for a few days and coming out when I am ready to see people. But thanks to travel I have been much more open about seeing people on a regular basis, and thanks to Finland, I have grown to crave that human contact. 

Travel has made me much more dependent on being more extroverted. I have to be willing to stop and ask for directions or chat with the people in my hostel. So the idea of hiding away is not possible. Besides, travel is about getting to know a culture through getting to know people. So for the last few years, travel has been chipping away at my introverted self.

But it was Finland that truly changed me. It started off little by little. I would go to one event a week or see one friend a week. Then it started growing to more. Finally, by the end, I was seeing people every day and planning different activities. While the introvert in me was exhausted, I was also very happy. I had come such a long way from my old self, I was proud of the strides that I had made. Of course every now and then I needed a break and would go into hibernation for a few days, but then I would come back out and restart the process. And that made me really happy!