wow i'm back again, doing this for the umpteenth time! cheers to my annual type my thread, fam.
1) What aspect of your personality made you unsure of your type?
I feel like I’m a very contradictory person in general. I have many facets and layers to my personality, and therefore don’t know if another person could ever really type me. Meanwhile, I’m so up in my own head that I don’t really have an objective perception of myself. My personality really changes depending on the situation, the people I’m with, and what I’m dealing with internally. I’ve been on this site for a few years, and had given up on trying to figure out my type, but I figured I’d give this another go.
2) What do you yearn for in life? Why?
At the end of the day, happiness and security in my sense of self. For most of my life I’ve been chasing ambition after ambition, goal after goal. So, perhaps five years ago, I would have said I yearned for success. But now I’ve realized that I would much rather be happy with myself and with what I’m doing, and feeling as if I’m benefiting the world in some way, than being traditionally successful. However, I don’t know what exactly will bring me this happiness, so that’s a cause of some anxiety for me.
3) Think about a time where you felt like you were at your finest. Tell us what made you feel that way.
I’m on a solo hiking trip in the north of England. There’s no one around for a mile or so, and I’ve just reached the top of a peak when it starts to rain. The wind is howling, it’s pouring, it’s misty, and the hills are covered in fields and fields of heather in bloom, a violent purple. And it was just like this weird, transcendental moment, where I felt at one with nature and myself and felt completely comfortable being on my own and with my own personal journey.
4) What makes you feel inferior?
When people are more successful than I am. When they get to see more, get to do more, get to experience more -- for whatever reason. I don’t like being second best, at anything. I also don’t like being condescended to, or not being treated as an equal. I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t like my accomplishments to be belittled, or my work and struggles not to be valued. I don’t like being treated as a second rate citizen because of my sexuality or my history with mental illness. Overall, I don’t like seeing people being handed opportunities that I worked extremely hard for.
5) What tends to weigh on your decisions? (Do you think about people, pro-cons, how you feel about it, etc.)
When making decisions, my personal feelings and desires are always at the forefront. I’m rather selfish in that regard. The only people who have a real impact on my decisions are my parents, because I value their opinions and they’re bankrolling my college degree lmao. Often, I’ll bounce my ideas on what I might do off of my friends, but usually only because I’m looking for validation and for them to agree with me. I always do what’s best for me, at the end of the day. I am self-preserving and in a way, selfish, above all else. I will do what is most beneficial for me personally.
6) When working on a project what is normally your emphasis? Do you like to have control of the outcome?
I don’t know if this is supposed to refer to a group project, or a individual project, but my answer is the same regardless. I am really about the end goal - I don’t care how it gets done, as long as it does, and the product is pulled together and well done. To an extent, I like to be in control of the outcome. In university, though, I’m lucky in that all the people I’ve worked with in group projects have been very intelligent, and therefore I felt comfortable handing over the reins and working very collaboratively.
7) Describe us a time where you had a lot of fun. How is your memory of it?
I’m on vacation in Paris. It’s Bastille Day, and the sun is just beginning to set, painting the sky brilliant orange and pink. My friend and I are at the Jardin de Tuileries, which is filled with French people having picnic dinners. The Jardin has become a carnival for the summer months, and my friend and I eat crepes as we walk among the old-fashioned rides, Paris lighting up all around us. The world feels at my fingertips, like I’m on the precipice of experiencing something so great. Even in that moment, I know how special it is, and think about how I might never experience this exact same feeling again.
8) When you want to learn something new, what feels more natural for you? (Are you more prone to be hands on, to theorize, to memorize, etc)
I like discussion, and hands-on work. Lectures where you can never ask questions and discuss with your peers bore me immensely. The classes I’ve done in the best in have involved everyone bouncing ideas and theories off of one another, looking at graphs and charts to add to our arguments. No one’s idea is invalid, and the professors support this discussion and never shut anyone down for their ideas. I like to try things out and think things through for myself instead of just being told or explained
9) How organized do you to think of yourself as?
Organized only insofar as I know where all of my belongings are, and can find them with ease. I have fairly clear plans for what I want to do in the future, and fairly organized notes. However, I imagine this looks like organized chaos to others. My parents certainly think I’m messy, as my stuff is kind of lying all over the place. Though I’ll admit, I don’t like clutter, and will clean when I feel trapped or stifled.
10) How do you judge new ideas? You try to understand the principles behind it to see if they make sense or do you look for information that supports it?
I tend to analyze what information supports the idea, and what counter arguments exist, before fully accepting it. I’m constantly confronted with new ideas and theories, being a political science major. The ones I put more stock in are the ones that, in my estimation, best explain the world as I perceive it. I don’t discount any idea completely, though. I think the best way to explain things is through a combination of ideas, not just one alone.
11) You find harmony by making sure everyone is doing fine and belonging to a given group or by making sure that you follow what you believe and being yourself?
This is a question I struggled with, and after some self-examination, I think it’s the latter. I hate to see those close to me upset -- it makes me physically uncomfortable. It took me a really long time to make friends I am truly close to, so now I kind of latch on to them, and always want to make sure they’re alright. As someone who was very much an outcast for most of their life, I do like belonging to a group, and kind of having found my ‘people’. I think for a long time I defined myself in relation to other people, you know? This isn’t to say, though, that I don’t stand up for my beliefs. I still remain strong in what I want and like and believe, even if it’s unpopular with my friends. I’m not afraid to go off and do my own thing. I am just as comfortable being independent as I am being a part of a group, if not sometimes moreso. At the end of the day, though, I like having a group, and that sense of belonging associated with a group of people. I like being a part of something greater.
12) Are you the kind that thinks before speaking or do you speak before thinking? Do you prefer one-on-one communication or group discussions?
It very much depends on the situation. In the classroom, I only raise my hand and speak when I have something to say, and have gathered my thoughts. Among family and friends, though, I am very talkative. Sometimes, I put my foot in my mouth, but for the most part, I measure my words carefully. While I do enjoy the report that kind of emerges from group discussions, I can feel lost in them, and I feel like they are more susceptible to conflict. I like the almost personalization that occurs in one-on-one communications. I can probe someone else’s emotions and thinking more in that kind of setting.
13) Do you jump into action right away or do you like to know where are you jumping before leaping? Does action speaks more than words?
I’m sort of in the middle on this one. Firstly, I definitely think actions speak more than words. “Words are wind,” as George R.R. Martin says. Even though words are the best weapon, I think, they are not nearly as good an indicator of character as action. I like to get started on things right away, and often act spontaneously and go on new adventures, but when contemplating anything big, I often wait/talk to others about it/read up on it. In other words, I like to have at least some of it figured out, but it’s cool with me if there’s an element of suspense/mystery/surprise.
14) It's Saturday. You're at home, and your favorite show is about to start. Your friends call you for a night out. What will you do?
Honestly, depends how tired I am and how the day went. This has happened to me before, and I ultimately chose to go out. Yes, I was tired, and RuPaul’s Drag Race was on, and my aunt was coming to visit me early in the morning, but a rave hosted by the Harvard Gay Men’s Association sounded like too much of an adventure to pass up. I was super beat the next day, but overall, it was worth it. Other times, though, I have cancelled party plans because I was too tired/didn’t want to go/was too comfortable on the couch, so, take what you will from that haha.
15) How do you act when you're stressed out?
I rarely show stress, mostly because I internalize it. If anything, I get more quiet than normal, and often look as if I’m staring into space, brows knit in thought. More than anything, I get very restless, upset stomachs, headaches, even less sleep than I already get, anxiety. I get visibly fidgety and tense, most notably my hands close into tight fists. Because of this, I often work out in an attempt to alleviate stress.
16) What makes you dislike the personalities of some people?
I dislike a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, so bare with me. I don’t like: rude people, intolerant people, ignorant people, know-it-alls, loud people, obnoxious people, annoying people, bigoted people, people who I get bad vibes from, people who think they know what they’re talking about but clearly don’t. There’s more, but I can’t remember all off the top of my head now. Basically, I have trouble with people who aren’t polite, knowledgeable, and well-mannered.
17) Is there anything you really like talking about with other people?
I like talking about goals and ambitions of ours. I like talking about the latest TV shows and the latest movies. I like hearing about what other people are passionate about. Overall, I like talking to others about what I’m super interested in, and then hearing what they’re super interested in, too. I like talking about our dreams, places we’ve been, and the people we want to be. I also am a horrible gossip (though I’m not nearly as bad as my parents), so I do like to talk about people and their goings on.
18) What kind of things do pay the least attention to in your life?
I have an awful short-term memory. I don’t pay attention to minute, day-to-day things I have no interest in doing. Like, calling to scheduling appointments, sweeping the floor, doing the laundry, etc. I’m not super invested in the ‘here and now’ -- only if it involved world events, since I’m a political science major.
19) How do your friends perceive you? What is wrong about their perception? ? What would your friends never say about your personality ?
I think my friends would describe me as a supportive friend, a strong leader, someone who is efficient and on top of things. Someone who is good to talk to, and gives good advice. Someone who, at the end of the day, cares deeply even if they can’t always express it well. They would also probably say that I can put my foot in my mouth, be emotionally reactive, not think things through, and be occasionally too sensitive. I think they perceive me as much more emotionally volatile than I really am. They probably think they know mostly everything about me, but I only end up sharing the exact amount of information that I want them to know. They don’t know how ambitious and calculating I can be.
20) You got a whole day to do whatever you like. What kind of activities do you feel like doing?
I wake up, and go to yoga. The class is calm, and diverse, and there is a lack of those snooty, rich, blonde, PTA moms. I go to brunch after with my friends. We have fried eggs and Belgian waffles and laugh over mimosas. Then, I go to the beach. The sun is shining, the water is warm. That evening, I go out to a nice dinner with my parents. The restaurant is busy, but quiet. The desert is excellent. Afterwards, I go to a bar. It’s a speakeasy, the walls are old bricks and bartender makes anything you could ever want. I knock back a cosmo as my mom and I tell old stories from when I was a kid, and gossip about our family members. I’m tired and happy when I get home, and I slip into sleep easily, relaxed knowing I can sleep in the next day.
1) What aspect of your personality made you unsure of your type?
I feel like I’m a very contradictory person in general. I have many facets and layers to my personality, and therefore don’t know if another person could ever really type me. Meanwhile, I’m so up in my own head that I don’t really have an objective perception of myself. My personality really changes depending on the situation, the people I’m with, and what I’m dealing with internally. I’ve been on this site for a few years, and had given up on trying to figure out my type, but I figured I’d give this another go.
2) What do you yearn for in life? Why?
At the end of the day, happiness and security in my sense of self. For most of my life I’ve been chasing ambition after ambition, goal after goal. So, perhaps five years ago, I would have said I yearned for success. But now I’ve realized that I would much rather be happy with myself and with what I’m doing, and feeling as if I’m benefiting the world in some way, than being traditionally successful. However, I don’t know what exactly will bring me this happiness, so that’s a cause of some anxiety for me.
3) Think about a time where you felt like you were at your finest. Tell us what made you feel that way.
I’m on a solo hiking trip in the north of England. There’s no one around for a mile or so, and I’ve just reached the top of a peak when it starts to rain. The wind is howling, it’s pouring, it’s misty, and the hills are covered in fields and fields of heather in bloom, a violent purple. And it was just like this weird, transcendental moment, where I felt at one with nature and myself and felt completely comfortable being on my own and with my own personal journey.
4) What makes you feel inferior?
When people are more successful than I am. When they get to see more, get to do more, get to experience more -- for whatever reason. I don’t like being second best, at anything. I also don’t like being condescended to, or not being treated as an equal. I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t like my accomplishments to be belittled, or my work and struggles not to be valued. I don’t like being treated as a second rate citizen because of my sexuality or my history with mental illness. Overall, I don’t like seeing people being handed opportunities that I worked extremely hard for.
5) What tends to weigh on your decisions? (Do you think about people, pro-cons, how you feel about it, etc.)
When making decisions, my personal feelings and desires are always at the forefront. I’m rather selfish in that regard. The only people who have a real impact on my decisions are my parents, because I value their opinions and they’re bankrolling my college degree lmao. Often, I’ll bounce my ideas on what I might do off of my friends, but usually only because I’m looking for validation and for them to agree with me. I always do what’s best for me, at the end of the day. I am self-preserving and in a way, selfish, above all else. I will do what is most beneficial for me personally.
6) When working on a project what is normally your emphasis? Do you like to have control of the outcome?
I don’t know if this is supposed to refer to a group project, or a individual project, but my answer is the same regardless. I am really about the end goal - I don’t care how it gets done, as long as it does, and the product is pulled together and well done. To an extent, I like to be in control of the outcome. In university, though, I’m lucky in that all the people I’ve worked with in group projects have been very intelligent, and therefore I felt comfortable handing over the reins and working very collaboratively.
7) Describe us a time where you had a lot of fun. How is your memory of it?
I’m on vacation in Paris. It’s Bastille Day, and the sun is just beginning to set, painting the sky brilliant orange and pink. My friend and I are at the Jardin de Tuileries, which is filled with French people having picnic dinners. The Jardin has become a carnival for the summer months, and my friend and I eat crepes as we walk among the old-fashioned rides, Paris lighting up all around us. The world feels at my fingertips, like I’m on the precipice of experiencing something so great. Even in that moment, I know how special it is, and think about how I might never experience this exact same feeling again.
8) When you want to learn something new, what feels more natural for you? (Are you more prone to be hands on, to theorize, to memorize, etc)
I like discussion, and hands-on work. Lectures where you can never ask questions and discuss with your peers bore me immensely. The classes I’ve done in the best in have involved everyone bouncing ideas and theories off of one another, looking at graphs and charts to add to our arguments. No one’s idea is invalid, and the professors support this discussion and never shut anyone down for their ideas. I like to try things out and think things through for myself instead of just being told or explained
9) How organized do you to think of yourself as?
Organized only insofar as I know where all of my belongings are, and can find them with ease. I have fairly clear plans for what I want to do in the future, and fairly organized notes. However, I imagine this looks like organized chaos to others. My parents certainly think I’m messy, as my stuff is kind of lying all over the place. Though I’ll admit, I don’t like clutter, and will clean when I feel trapped or stifled.
10) How do you judge new ideas? You try to understand the principles behind it to see if they make sense or do you look for information that supports it?
I tend to analyze what information supports the idea, and what counter arguments exist, before fully accepting it. I’m constantly confronted with new ideas and theories, being a political science major. The ones I put more stock in are the ones that, in my estimation, best explain the world as I perceive it. I don’t discount any idea completely, though. I think the best way to explain things is through a combination of ideas, not just one alone.
11) You find harmony by making sure everyone is doing fine and belonging to a given group or by making sure that you follow what you believe and being yourself?
This is a question I struggled with, and after some self-examination, I think it’s the latter. I hate to see those close to me upset -- it makes me physically uncomfortable. It took me a really long time to make friends I am truly close to, so now I kind of latch on to them, and always want to make sure they’re alright. As someone who was very much an outcast for most of their life, I do like belonging to a group, and kind of having found my ‘people’. I think for a long time I defined myself in relation to other people, you know? This isn’t to say, though, that I don’t stand up for my beliefs. I still remain strong in what I want and like and believe, even if it’s unpopular with my friends. I’m not afraid to go off and do my own thing. I am just as comfortable being independent as I am being a part of a group, if not sometimes moreso. At the end of the day, though, I like having a group, and that sense of belonging associated with a group of people. I like being a part of something greater.
12) Are you the kind that thinks before speaking or do you speak before thinking? Do you prefer one-on-one communication or group discussions?
It very much depends on the situation. In the classroom, I only raise my hand and speak when I have something to say, and have gathered my thoughts. Among family and friends, though, I am very talkative. Sometimes, I put my foot in my mouth, but for the most part, I measure my words carefully. While I do enjoy the report that kind of emerges from group discussions, I can feel lost in them, and I feel like they are more susceptible to conflict. I like the almost personalization that occurs in one-on-one communications. I can probe someone else’s emotions and thinking more in that kind of setting.
13) Do you jump into action right away or do you like to know where are you jumping before leaping? Does action speaks more than words?
I’m sort of in the middle on this one. Firstly, I definitely think actions speak more than words. “Words are wind,” as George R.R. Martin says. Even though words are the best weapon, I think, they are not nearly as good an indicator of character as action. I like to get started on things right away, and often act spontaneously and go on new adventures, but when contemplating anything big, I often wait/talk to others about it/read up on it. In other words, I like to have at least some of it figured out, but it’s cool with me if there’s an element of suspense/mystery/surprise.
14) It's Saturday. You're at home, and your favorite show is about to start. Your friends call you for a night out. What will you do?
Honestly, depends how tired I am and how the day went. This has happened to me before, and I ultimately chose to go out. Yes, I was tired, and RuPaul’s Drag Race was on, and my aunt was coming to visit me early in the morning, but a rave hosted by the Harvard Gay Men’s Association sounded like too much of an adventure to pass up. I was super beat the next day, but overall, it was worth it. Other times, though, I have cancelled party plans because I was too tired/didn’t want to go/was too comfortable on the couch, so, take what you will from that haha.
15) How do you act when you're stressed out?
I rarely show stress, mostly because I internalize it. If anything, I get more quiet than normal, and often look as if I’m staring into space, brows knit in thought. More than anything, I get very restless, upset stomachs, headaches, even less sleep than I already get, anxiety. I get visibly fidgety and tense, most notably my hands close into tight fists. Because of this, I often work out in an attempt to alleviate stress.
16) What makes you dislike the personalities of some people?
I dislike a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, so bare with me. I don’t like: rude people, intolerant people, ignorant people, know-it-alls, loud people, obnoxious people, annoying people, bigoted people, people who I get bad vibes from, people who think they know what they’re talking about but clearly don’t. There’s more, but I can’t remember all off the top of my head now. Basically, I have trouble with people who aren’t polite, knowledgeable, and well-mannered.
17) Is there anything you really like talking about with other people?
I like talking about goals and ambitions of ours. I like talking about the latest TV shows and the latest movies. I like hearing about what other people are passionate about. Overall, I like talking to others about what I’m super interested in, and then hearing what they’re super interested in, too. I like talking about our dreams, places we’ve been, and the people we want to be. I also am a horrible gossip (though I’m not nearly as bad as my parents), so I do like to talk about people and their goings on.
18) What kind of things do pay the least attention to in your life?
I have an awful short-term memory. I don’t pay attention to minute, day-to-day things I have no interest in doing. Like, calling to scheduling appointments, sweeping the floor, doing the laundry, etc. I’m not super invested in the ‘here and now’ -- only if it involved world events, since I’m a political science major.
19) How do your friends perceive you? What is wrong about their perception? ? What would your friends never say about your personality ?
I think my friends would describe me as a supportive friend, a strong leader, someone who is efficient and on top of things. Someone who is good to talk to, and gives good advice. Someone who, at the end of the day, cares deeply even if they can’t always express it well. They would also probably say that I can put my foot in my mouth, be emotionally reactive, not think things through, and be occasionally too sensitive. I think they perceive me as much more emotionally volatile than I really am. They probably think they know mostly everything about me, but I only end up sharing the exact amount of information that I want them to know. They don’t know how ambitious and calculating I can be.
20) You got a whole day to do whatever you like. What kind of activities do you feel like doing?
I wake up, and go to yoga. The class is calm, and diverse, and there is a lack of those snooty, rich, blonde, PTA moms. I go to brunch after with my friends. We have fried eggs and Belgian waffles and laugh over mimosas. Then, I go to the beach. The sun is shining, the water is warm. That evening, I go out to a nice dinner with my parents. The restaurant is busy, but quiet. The desert is excellent. Afterwards, I go to a bar. It’s a speakeasy, the walls are old bricks and bartender makes anything you could ever want. I knock back a cosmo as my mom and I tell old stories from when I was a kid, and gossip about our family members. I’m tired and happy when I get home, and I slip into sleep easily, relaxed knowing I can sleep in the next day.
