The Mask and the Performance

YES I'M AN INTROVERT. I am the kind of person who is quiet in large groups or in public. I love to think rather than talk. You only see the real me if we are close. I fell to have friends on my side; I talk to myself, answering my own questions and comforting myself in dark days. Yet, when I am needed, I am always there to give a hand, building confidence for those who need it, even though no one does that for me. I stare at the ceiling at night, wishing to share what bothers me, but no one is available. I send messages and no one answers, but I am a quick response because I know the ache of being ignored. I tell people I am a quiet person, yet I talk and laugh too much just to avoid being the "weird and awkward" person. I laugh a lot so that people think I am happy. I laugh a lot so they don't think I have reserved myself or that I think I am better than them. I am the awkward, clumsy, shy, and strange soul. I am typically sensitive to noise, yet I enjoy being alone. I hate telling people about my problems; they don't need to worry about me. I am the one who listens to other people's problems. But I am drowning in my own thoughts with no one to save me, even though I would save anyone from this sea.