the idealist, enlightened
I never post in here anymore, unless I want to write about gooey touchy feely stuff. I can't say I'm going to break that chain with this post, but whatever. I do what I want, I do what I want.
I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately since I'm coming up on senior year and I've been recovering from a particularly difficult semester (made particularly difficult by none other than yours truly, of course). In the past, said soul-searching has only made me more confused, but not this time. I feel like I've made great strides into understanding myself, corny as it sounds.
Among the things I've realized: I'm actually an extrovert. As a teenager I was convinced I was an introvert, probably because I had few people I felt I could relate to as well as a minimal social life. Now that I've met more mature, interesting and compassionate people I connect with and have nabbed myself a few choice social networks, I'm realizing that I actually like people. When I'm sad, I'm more likely to call someone than go to my room and stew. I'm still intimidated by large groups of people, especially when those people are people I admire or view as "special," but I'm not afraid of strangers or the phone anymore. I even have a job calling strangers and asking them for money now (at the Alumni Relations Center). A year ago, I probably wouldn't have considered applying for that job.
As part of my new found personal enlightenment, I decided to retake the Myers-Briggs. In the past, I've been categorized as an INFJ. Now, I come up as an ENFP:
Idealist Portrait of the Champion (ENFP)
Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can't wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.
Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what's possible.
Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.
Joan Baez, Phil Donahue, Paul Robeson, Bill Moyer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Joeseph Campbell, Edith Wharton, Sargent Shriver, Charles Dickens, and Upton Sinclair are examples of Idealist Champions
Kind of scarily accurate, especially the whole facility with language thing, the striving for personal authenticity, scanning the social environment, and seeing life as a drama (I'd prefer to say narrative). Oh, and the talking thing. I'm a very different person. One thing will never change, though-- I'll always be an idealist.
I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately since I'm coming up on senior year and I've been recovering from a particularly difficult semester (made particularly difficult by none other than yours truly, of course). In the past, said soul-searching has only made me more confused, but not this time. I feel like I've made great strides into understanding myself, corny as it sounds.
Among the things I've realized: I'm actually an extrovert. As a teenager I was convinced I was an introvert, probably because I had few people I felt I could relate to as well as a minimal social life. Now that I've met more mature, interesting and compassionate people I connect with and have nabbed myself a few choice social networks, I'm realizing that I actually like people. When I'm sad, I'm more likely to call someone than go to my room and stew. I'm still intimidated by large groups of people, especially when those people are people I admire or view as "special," but I'm not afraid of strangers or the phone anymore. I even have a job calling strangers and asking them for money now (at the Alumni Relations Center). A year ago, I probably wouldn't have considered applying for that job.
As part of my new found personal enlightenment, I decided to retake the Myers-Briggs. In the past, I've been categorized as an INFJ. Now, I come up as an ENFP:
Idealist Portrait of the Champion (ENFP)
Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can't wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.
Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what's possible.
Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.
Joan Baez, Phil Donahue, Paul Robeson, Bill Moyer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Joeseph Campbell, Edith Wharton, Sargent Shriver, Charles Dickens, and Upton Sinclair are examples of Idealist Champions
Kind of scarily accurate, especially the whole facility with language thing, the striving for personal authenticity, scanning the social environment, and seeing life as a drama (I'd prefer to say narrative). Oh, and the talking thing. I'm a very different person. One thing will never change, though-- I'll always be an idealist.