The Manichean Paranoia Patch

For reasons I won’t go into, I have had a chance to do some significant self-reflection in the last few weeks. My final academic year as an undergraduate started a few weeks ago, and I’ve had a few developments in my personal life which have caused me to look inward and think about the kind of person I am and the type of person I aspire to become.

While I normally shy away from these sorts of “MySpace” self-identity quizzes – both because I think they’re largely a waste of time and because I question the motivation behind anyone who feels the need to constantly post surveys about themselves on the Internet – I have recently felt the urge to go ahead and list some qualities about myself that I think have become a rather permanent and an important component of my identity. While this list is hardly a commitment to these traits, nor is it a complete description, these are some things about myself that I feel are important to my identity. The subject refers to the acronym that describes my personality type according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I personally feel that it is an extremely good description of me, although all personality tests have their limits.

Things I am:
· A leader whose management style relies heavily on getting feedback from multiple parties before making a decision.
· Eager-to-please, desiring to make as many people happy as possible.
· A social perfectionist that hates to be criticized or embarrassed, particularly publicly.
· Flirtatious, a flatterer.
· Someone with an active and playful sense of humor.
· Creative and expressive.
· Someone who tries to be positive even while being critical.
· Analytical, capable of understanding the way systems and people connect to one another. Frequently uses analogies to make points. “A big picture person.”
· Prefers having a small number of close friends to a large number of distant ones. Often not comfortable with people at a first meeting.
· Someone who thrives on interaction with others.
· Self-aware.
· Strong moral center.

Things I am not:
· Neat and tidy.
· Extraordinarily handsome or extraordinarily ugly.
· Detail-oriented.
· Athletic.
· Driven to make plans for the distant future.
· Good at remembering names and faces.
· Spatially oriented – good with directions.
· Someone with an proficient memory.