MBTI yadayada blah

Boston Anderson

Lonnie Jujan

UNIV 1105

            My Myers Briggs Type Indicator Test results were ESFP. Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling and Perceiving. I’m not sure I completely agree or disagree with these results, mostly because I hate the idea of putting myself into 4 little boxes.

            Extraversion: I am an extrovert. I’ve always known that. Being around people gives me energy and joy. But, I hate small talk. Coming to college has been hard for me because every conversation is the same. “What’s your name? Where do you live? What are you studying?” I would rather not talk at all than have the same stupid conversation with hundreds of strangers I don’t care about. Real conversations, with real friends, that’s what I love. I love to hear and tell stories and I love to interact with people, when people are being themselves. Fake smiles and constant talking are off-putting for me.

            I hate being alone. But in many ways, I am used to it. My senior year of high school, just last year, I was very sick and spent a lot of time at home alone. I’m used to entertaining myself. I would rather be alone than be with strangers, but I would rather be with friends than be alone.

            Sensing: This is my closest to the middle category, and I knew it would be, I am only 1 point into the sensing category, but I thought I would be close to the line on the intuition side. I feel like I am pretty intuitive. I notice patterns, I usually focus on the “big picture.” Sometimes I have to remind myself to enjoy the present rather than constantly looking to the future. I thought I would be an intuitive. So where does my “sensing” side come from? I am a tactile learner. I’m a sucker for textures and l love to touch things. When I walk through stores, especially clothing stores, I have a difficult time not touching everything. Much as I have a focus on the future, I am a here and now problem solver. I don’t wait to get things done. I want to get difficult tasks out of the way so I can enjoy myself more now.

            Being close to the line doesn’t bother me. Like I said earlier, I hate the idea of putting myself in a box. The closer to the line you are, the more skills from both categories you can comfortably use and the more you can relate to other people.

            Feeling: This one was my toss-up. I knew beforehand that I was an extrovert and a perceiver and I knew I would be close to the line on sensing and intuition. But feeling and thinking, I had no idea. So, for a little while I thought maybe this one would be close to the middle line as well. Then I realized, the way I act is close to the line. I am a feeler. I would love to make every decision with my heart. But I am also a critical thinker. I realized that when I make decisions, I think through the options critically at first, then I make a decision, and then I wait to see how that decision feels. In the end, I make decisions based on feeling, even if it isn’t the choice that makes the most logical sense. But I try to align the two.

When it was time for me to pick a college, I had a lot of mixed up feelings. I wanted to go everywhere and nowhere. So, I used my heart to weed out the schools I definitely did not want to go to. Then I went through the pros and cons of the remaining schools, with a big emphasis on money. Weber was not the winner of the critical thinking contest. Logically, it made more sense for me to go to another school. But it didn’t feel right.  Weber was in second place on the pro/con list, and it felt right. So even though it made more sense to go elsewhere, I worked hard to find scholarships to make it so it made sense to go to Weber. In the end, I found so many scholarships that Weber moved up to the top of the list.

Perceiving: I knew this one. I am spontaneous and flexible. I think some of that comes from my parents being that way. Back in July, there was a day where my family sat down and figured out everyone’s schedules for the rest of the summer. We realized that if we wanted any kind of family vacation, we needed to leave the next day. So, we did. It was so much fun!

I try really hard to take a planned approach to things like school and work. I’m a procrastinator and a night owl who is trying to go to college and change some of her habits. I want to stress less, so I am trying to plan more. Much as I love spontaneity, I understand the need for dependability. I am a perceiver who is trying to act a little more like a judger. 

I am trying to talk a little less and listen a little more. I am trying to think through decisions with my mind and my heart to make sure I find the best choices that will make me the happiest. I’m trying to make flexible plans. Not everything can be spur of the moment, but life isn’t fun when everything is planned out for you. Most of all I am trying to enjoy the ups and downs as they come. I am trying to handle life the best I possibly can.

Much as I hate the idea of putting myself in a box, this test has helped me to see some of my strengths and weaknesses. It has also helped me to see that each type has their own strengths. I think it’s really important for all of us to understand that people who are different than us are not wrong or bad or scary. We are all just people trying to get through life the best we possibly can. Everyone I have ever met knows something I don’t and I know something they don’t. We all have something to learn from each other. We all have different ways of dealing with life and with our challenges. Companies with greater diversity have greater success. We all think differently and have different things to offer. This makes us better and stronger. Embracing others and their ideas and strengths make us better, smarter, happier people.