I was an extreme introvert as a child. I spent most of my free time in my bedroom studying or reading and in general I wouldn’t speak unless spoken to. When asked a question, I would use as few words as possible to respond. I preferred reading about and interacting with dead things, preferably non-human dead things. Despite this, my mother would drag my younger brother and me to nursing homes at Christmas to sing and play music for the residents. She would take my brothers and me around with her when she walked the neighborhood to meet any neighbors who happened to be outside, to see what needed to be taken care of in the neighborhood, and to help out when a need was identified that we could help with. My mother always encouraged my brothers and I to take the time to see the needs around us and do something about the needs we observe. She taught us that we could push beyond our comfort zones and make a difference in the lives of the people we were in community with. Thus the need to be an active contributor to the communities I am a part of, despite being very shy, has been ingrained in me from a young age.