::ahem:: Hi, My name is Elizabeth Bundy (formerly Doveno)...and I am an introvert. My energy comes from having time to myself and I am drained from talking to lots and lots of people in a day. Yes, it may come to some as a shock because I am very well known to chat someone's ear off; however, I insist that it is true. I struggle with outreaching to others in large group settings. I get petrified at the thought of going up to complete strangers and engage in a conversation with them. I am not very smooth or comfortable with small talk. I can get anxious in a social situation where I receive blank stares and expressionless statements-especially if I feel that what I share is really personal or important. I rather engage in a small group conversation or even better one on one with deep meaningful insights. I become easily drained by trying to milk a conversation that is not going anywhere. Now, don't get me wrong, not all times does a conversation need to end in a deep enlightenment of life. Primarily though, the conversations I remember most, entail something deep and meaningful. So, how did I ever work in an environment like the CSC that relies heavily on engaging new students/and community members?! My job is to constantly meet and greet new people and create an environment that is open, loving, and welcoming. I need to get out of my introverted self and stretch what I think I can do.
I remember VERY clearly the first weekend as an intern at the CSC. All through the first Mass I could only think about questions I could ask new people and what my approach was going to be. I decided to stick to what I knew and was more comfortable doing. This approach is to look for those individuals who are similar to myself where they feel overwhelmed just going up to new people and usually are on the outskirts taking several trips to the food table hoping to bump into someone there. I found a young grad student working on her MSW at the Brown School at WashU. I honest to God could not have asked for a better first meeting of a student! We chatted about her home, why she was passionate about social work, adventures she has had in the city, and even more meaningful a small insight to her faith. This spring board gave me my confidence and helped me to continue my established means of meeting new people. I could introduce myself to someone new and have a brief meaningful conversation with them! Holy cow...no way! I took this new found energy and found confidence to meet people in smaller groups not chatting with too many others. In this, I had some great conversations and continued to gain confidence.
Now, there was still some hurdles for me to overcome. I needed to still outreach constantly and not just continue to go to those students and community members I knew. So, I decided every weekend to meet one new person at both Masses. Now, this may seem a little too small of a goal, but for me...it took some time. My gifts and talents are more of running in the background making sure things are going smoothly and handling crisis situations of sorts. My gifts and talents are NOT having a group of people surround me and entertain them with tons of witty remarks or being the one playing master of ceremonies. Regardless, I needed to stretch myself and challenge myself to try.
By the spring semester of last year I was proud of my efforts. I was successfully meeting new students weekly and creating new relationships. When the end of the intern year came, I truly felt like I gained skills that I had previously not worked on. I had the satisfaction of knowing I could engage in small talk, introduce myself to someone new when I did not know them rather than sit in the back and wait for them to come to me, and jump into a group while in conversation. I will not lie and tell you that now it all comes naturally. I recently have found it once again challenging to just jump into a group conversation when maybe only knowing one other person of the group or not even knowing anyone. Regardless, the experiences given to me through the internship were invaluable to growing into a better me. I am still introverted, and that will not change. I am now, however, more confident and able to put myself in situations that just a couple of years ago would find myself avoiding.
I remember VERY clearly the first weekend as an intern at the CSC. All through the first Mass I could only think about questions I could ask new people and what my approach was going to be. I decided to stick to what I knew and was more comfortable doing. This approach is to look for those individuals who are similar to myself where they feel overwhelmed just going up to new people and usually are on the outskirts taking several trips to the food table hoping to bump into someone there. I found a young grad student working on her MSW at the Brown School at WashU. I honest to God could not have asked for a better first meeting of a student! We chatted about her home, why she was passionate about social work, adventures she has had in the city, and even more meaningful a small insight to her faith. This spring board gave me my confidence and helped me to continue my established means of meeting new people. I could introduce myself to someone new and have a brief meaningful conversation with them! Holy cow...no way! I took this new found energy and found confidence to meet people in smaller groups not chatting with too many others. In this, I had some great conversations and continued to gain confidence.
Now, there was still some hurdles for me to overcome. I needed to still outreach constantly and not just continue to go to those students and community members I knew. So, I decided every weekend to meet one new person at both Masses. Now, this may seem a little too small of a goal, but for me...it took some time. My gifts and talents are more of running in the background making sure things are going smoothly and handling crisis situations of sorts. My gifts and talents are NOT having a group of people surround me and entertain them with tons of witty remarks or being the one playing master of ceremonies. Regardless, I needed to stretch myself and challenge myself to try.
By the spring semester of last year I was proud of my efforts. I was successfully meeting new students weekly and creating new relationships. When the end of the intern year came, I truly felt like I gained skills that I had previously not worked on. I had the satisfaction of knowing I could engage in small talk, introduce myself to someone new when I did not know them rather than sit in the back and wait for them to come to me, and jump into a group while in conversation. I will not lie and tell you that now it all comes naturally. I recently have found it once again challenging to just jump into a group conversation when maybe only knowing one other person of the group or not even knowing anyone. Regardless, the experiences given to me through the internship were invaluable to growing into a better me. I am still introverted, and that will not change. I am now, however, more confident and able to put myself in situations that just a couple of years ago would find myself avoiding.
