Introvert vs Extrovert

I consider myself to be an introverted person as opposed to an extrovert, but I have come to question whether that system of classification is actually valid in terms of absolutes.  What that actually means is surprisingly hard to define.  There are numerous attempts to categorise personalities and fit people into boxes where they sit neatly in order.  These attempts usually involve a survey or a quiz of some sort where the answers you give then indicate your classification.  The trouble is, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on how to actually define each term.  Most people can agree on some general characteristics but most of those are subjective.  For example characterising introverts as quiet and extroverts as loud is somewhat problematic when you ask people to define what actually constitutes either of those things.  Most of these characteristics end up being relative and consequently your perception of what constitutes either shifts based on where you fall on those scales - like someone from a cold country considering 20 degrees Celsius [68 Fahrenheit] to be a hot summer's day and someone from a warm country considering that a cold winter's day.

Instead I feel the definition and distinction between the two in practice doesn't come down to what other people outline but rather which you identify with yourself.  Whilst some consider introverts to be anti-social and extroverts to be social, one could argue this is a stereotype, that introverts are concerned with the depth of the connection in social settings whereas extroverts are concerned more with the experience and the nature of the gathering.  To give an example, an introvert would not necessarily be fazed by a room full of people if they knew them all well and they were there for some common goal.  I consider myself an introvert, I have no desire to be in a room full of people I don't know and probably have nothing in common with, however I have no problems with gatherings for specific purposes, classes in college and University never fazed me, the latter of which had over 200 people in them as a matter of routine.  I didn't feel uneasy in those situations because I knew everyone was there for the same reason and that I had a common ground with everyone - the subject matter - which I could fall back on. 

There's a quickness to associate shyness with introversion but in my experience many people who others label as introverted due to shyness at first meeting, turn out to be anything but shy when they are comfortable with the people they are around.  This goes to extremes where I would say many of these people turn out to be some of the most extroverted personalities in my perception.

For me introversion is perhaps better defined by the level of thought someone puts into their actions before taking them, and the extent to which they look inward and examine those actions after they have taken them.  I wouldn't define it as something absolute and would go so far to say that introversion and extroversion are in essence emotions or moods and that your personality is not fixed as one or the other but in reality is a neutral ground between the two.  I would propose that you are capable of both and you likely exhibit both in equal proportion.  Whilst you might assert the contrary at first in immediate retort, I would ask that you refrain from retort and actually look at your life as a whole rather than focusing on the parts that conform to the personality type you feel the most affinity with.  Ask yourself what and where do you conform to the opposite.  Ask yourself what conditions need to be met for you to behave in that way and ask whether those are conditions you can consciously control.  If the answer to that second question is that they are not under your control then simply ask if your personality type is actually a response to your environment not an exhibition of your true "default" behaviour.  If you were put in the opposing environment that encourages the opposing personality type, would it flourish?