I'd just like to say that it isn't permanent. You can change. I used to be extremely introverted; now I'm extremely extroverted. I still need a certain amount of alone time, and I'm fine with that, but I'm no longer what I would consider "shy". And yes, there is a difference between "shy" and "introverted", but I think that in a lot of cases people who say they're introverted actually have social anxiety, which you can absolutely conquer.