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Mary Surabian is a senior at Endicott College graduating this May. She has been studying education and psychology. In her free time, writing poetry has been as escape for her in periods of stress. Some of her hobbies include: shopping and reselling secondhand clothes, cooking Italian food, and trying out new kinds of iced coffee.

The Introvert

Mary Surabian

She often tells herself that she is quiet because when she was little
She was told over and over to speak up
“Why is she so shy?”
They would tell her mom
“Let her speak for herself”
Even today people ask
Why she is so quiet
Why she doesn’t say much
It’s not something that will just go away
Being shy is not a bad thing
She has a lot of reasons to be quiet
She is humble
She is nurturing
She is soft natured
like your favorite childhood blanket
She is comfort
She’s not a talker
She’s a listener
This is a skill that not all people have
But just because people tell her she’s quiet
Doesn’t mean that she has to be
We get so caught up on misconceptions about ourselves
That we have outgrown like a pair of Nikes
She has outgrown her quietness
She needs to stop reverting back
to beating herself up about being quiet
And appreciate the progress she has made
From a silent 8-year-old girl
Flying under the radar
As a defense mechanism
To a 22-year-old girl
with strong opinions and goals
Who has a lot to say,
and chooses the right times
to say it
She doesn’t say much,
But when she does
It is important
She is the wind
Sometimes she is barely there
Giving you a soft breeze on a wonderful spring day
And other times she is so strong
That she shakes your car
when you’re driving down 128.

— Mary Surabian

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