I am just a reserved person that needs my alone time. I am cordial to people, but I am not trying to be everyone's best friend.

The other day, my next-door neighbor said she wanted to talk to me because she was done "feeling awkward around me". I heard her out, but I don't feel like I owe anyone an explanation as to how I live my life. If it were an issue of playing music too loud or something that is disruptive to others in the neighborhood, I can understand that. I keep to myself, and I didn't realize that was such an issue.

I told her that it's nothing personal, but that is just the way I am, and in the midst of my explaining this, she interrupted me. What exactly was the point of this conversation if I cannot finish my sentence without being interrupted?

There's another instance that happened, not to me, but a coworker of mine. I overheard two of my other coworkers talking about her (and they were of the chatty type) and they thought she was "weird" because they didn't know anything about her. I got along with the woman just fine.

Why can't extroverts understand that not everyone is going to engage them in small talk or tell them our life's story? I'm not, and I never will be, the life of the party, and I am OK with that. Why can't other people understand that?