I absolutely love meeting new people. One of the goals for my “do year” was to put faces to some of my friends in the virtual village. It’s easy for me to say, “Let’s get together,” and then never actually do anything that furthers the cause. I wanted this year to be different.

One of the ways I was going to meet some people was through the Sacred Friendship Gathering. For months, I was really excited about having a chance to meet David Nilsen face to face. I’ve felt a connection with him since we met a year ago online, and I was very much looking forward to seeing if that translated to the real world as well.

But as the date closed in, I got a little bit nervous. When I say that I’m an ENFP, I can’t stress enough how much of an “E” I really am. Whenever I take a Myers-Briggs test, I score heavily to the extrovert side of things. This means that I have absolutely no problem in crowds. It also means that I have a very big personality. Very loud, very boisterous, very…much.

Often a bit too much.

Normally people have a chance to get to know me over time. They can observe from afar and then ease into a relationship with me if they want.

But when we’re meeting for lunch at Chili’s for the first time, there’s no escape. It’s just me and my off-color sense of humor, my aggressive hugging, and my loud, loud, loud laugh. I try very hard to let people know what they’re getting into before they meet me, but I know there’s no way to explain ME.  I hate making people uncomfortable, but when I’m meeting someone who I feel like I know, I feel like I should be me. And when I’m me, I can make people uncomfortable.

I suppose I could avoid these situations. Keep things safe. Lower my laugh. Make small talk.

And no one would get to know me.

So instead, I walked into Chili’s with David, Lyndie, and Melinda and gave them me.

It may have been too much, but it was me.

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What’s your Myers-Briggs personality? How do you feel about meeting new people?

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This is a part of the One Word at a Time Blog Carnival hosted by Peter Pollock. You can read more submissions and add your own here.