As humans, it's difficult to know everything about those around us; despite being around them for many years, you'll be shocked to discover new things about them that you've not seen in years, and I, for one, think that's what makes us unique and amazing, because even yourself as an individual will be surprised about something you get to know about yourself, and in this article I'll be exploring one of the most notable things about my personality that usually shocks those around me when they discover it.
You see, it's no longer news to most of my active readers and followers that I'm an introvert, and as we all know, one of the notable traits about being an introvert is loving to be indoors and enjoying the calmness and serenity of our home over the loud and dramatic activities outside. I'm no exception in that regard. In fact, if it weren't for my offline job, I can bet I'll most likely spend over 18 hours of each day indoors; in fact, there are days I spend the entire 24 hours indoors, since I've got nothing to do outdoors, and believe me, if there's no valid reason for me to go out, I can spend a week indoors without getting tired, inasmuch as I've got electricity and my devices to keep me company.
But what's funny and surprising in all of these is that despite me being an indoor person, one of my top hobbies right from childhood is traveling and exploring different places. I mean, that seems to be the opposite of my actual personality of being an indoor person, and to those around me, they still can't help but wonder how I'm able to fulfill these hobbies and make them a reality when most times when they try to reach out to me, I'm always indoors.
Most people around me know me for being the type of person who's always indoors and won't even bother calling if I'm home or not before they embark on their journey to my place, one of whom is my friend Moremoney, who'll even tell me to my face that I knew you'd be home; that's why I didn't bother calling, as I've known you to always be indoors after returning from work.
Well now to the surprising things that get people shocked about my personality, that's regarding my love for traveling and exploring new places. I remember on several occasions when we were chatting as friends and came in contact with someone who just came from another state within the country, my friends would be surprised to see me trying to know where they were actually based on that distance place and how we relate and talk about things in that area.
They still can't fathom how and when I left the house to travel to visit all those places and get to know so much about it, but then it's one thing I love, so I usually find a way around it, and despite how wide Nigeria is as a country with 36 states, I've been on my own exploring at least 20 of the states in my leisure time, trying to know about the people, their culture, tradition, and the likes.
I remember one time at the office I was speaking with one of my colleagues, and then she talked about her time in Sokoto State, Nigeria. I inquired about it and said I'd been to that particular place before, and while she was still surprised, alongside those listening, someone else talked about their NYSC days in River State, and again, I was able to relate to the exact place he was posted to and even mentioned names of some popular people in the street she lived on while in the state; they were all left dumbfounded and wondered how I visited all those places when in reality they knew me to be an indoor person.
Overall, sometimes even I can't help but be surprised by the number of places I've been, both here in my country, Nigeria, and our neighbor country, but then, overall, I think the driving force to help stimulate this change in personality from being an indoor person to being an explorer who likes to visit new places is rooted in my love for traveling that has been my thing right from my tender age.
All photos are mine.