America Ballerini

Professor Risk & Professor Ferris

PORTfolio

December 4, 2005

Me, Myself, and I: According to Myers-Briggs

America Ballerini

Professor Risk & Professor Ferris

PORTfolio

December 4, 2005

Me, Myself, and I: According to Myers-Briggs

The PORTfolio classes that involved the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test have been the best classes so far. I love taking personality tests because even though sometimes they are wrong, it is really interesting to hear what the results have to say. Most personality tests ask the same questions to see what type of personality you have and to find out what kind of person you are. There are millions of tests on the internet that are all asking the same questions but have different categories and types to put you under. Some of the many examples would be “What Napoleon Dynamite character are you,” “What kind of car are you,” or “Which celebrity are you most like?” The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test groups were: Extroversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test results put me under Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging, so I think this test described me exactly.

Extroversion and Introversion describes how outgoing you are. People that are extroverts like to always be with people and love being talkative and usually participate in everything. Extroverts are fun and loud and like to be the life of the party everywhere they go so being an extrovert or hanging out with an extrovert is always fun. Introverts like to be alone a lot, do things by themselves, rarely just walk up to a stranger at a party and start a conversation, and stay pretty quiet. I am an Introvert. I like to work alone most of the time because I feel like I get more accomplished and everything works out the way I want it to. I also do not talk much, which is good and bad. It could be good because I never talk in class so I am not a problem with teachers and I do not gossip and run around talking about other people. However, it could be bad because teachers like students that participate in class and girls want girlfriends that they can gossip with and have long conversations with. Luckily, I am not anti-social so I can be an introvert but still have friends and get good grades in class. Like the test said, I am quiet and shy but I can be talkative and fun, just usually in one-on-one conversations.

Sensing and Intuition is what you think. Sensing describes people that think about the present and focus on concrete information while intuition describes people who think about the future and think about possibilities. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator said I am a sensor and I completely agree. I do not see the need to think about the future when you should be enjoying the present. I also need to “see it to believe it.” I need to have the information in front of me and know it is reliable for me to remember it and use it.

Another category was the Thinking and Feeling category. Thinkers make decisions according to logic and facts, feelers make decisions according to the consequences of people’s feelings and “what our gut tells us.” My score was a twenty-three on the feeling side and I actually thought it would be higher. I usually focus on other people’s feelings more than my own. I make decisions that will make everyone else happy and then afterwards, worry about my own feelings. However, this method has its ups and downs. Sometimes the decisions I know everyone else wants is not the one I want but I will go along with theirs anyway and end up being mad or upset. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator made me realize that I can find an equal balance though so now I focus on others as well as myself.

The last types were Judging and Perceiving. Judgers are usually organized and have plans in life while perceivers just jump into things. I am very much a judger. I do not plan everything but if I do not have a plan for almost everything I get worried. I have a lot of friends

that are perceivers and they are always fun to hang out with but they never decide on what they want to do until it is time to do it. Luckily, even though they do not plan on what we do, I have a plan that I am going to hang out with them and know we will do something.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test was a good way for me to have my personality explained to me. Now I know why I think or act the way I do. The test even opened me up to new career ideas or even just hobbies I could start. Even though Myers-Briggs did not suggest the exact career I plan on pursuing, it made me think about volunteering at a hospital or elderly home, which I plan on doing just for fun. I am very thankful for taking the test in PORTfolio class and I am even more thankful to have professionals actually explain to me what category meant what. I have a better understanding of myself and can now balance the strengths and weaknesses of my personality.