Stephanie's thoughts....
Someone recently told me that the Myers-Briggs Personality Test had fallen out of favor, that it wasn’t being used anymore by psychiatrists. That’s okay. I’ll forever be singing “`E’ the one who likes the crowd. `I’ the one who stands alone.”*
I took the test for the first time when I was twelve. I was sixteen the second time I took it. Apparently, I’m neither an introvert –nor- an extravert. (Apparently none of us truly are one or the other, but go with me here. I like thinking of myself as different.)
When I was sixteen, you couldn’t fit me into a neat little hole. I wasn’t any of the most popular personality types. That wasn’t fine with me at the time, but as I get older I am beginning to like it.
When I was little, my hero was Cinderella. She was sweet. She was beautiful. She was so good that birds flocked in her hair and bunnies played at her feet.
Then I discovered cowgirls and Indian princesses. Cinderella gave way to Pocahontas who eventually gave way to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Sweet? Maybe. Beautiful? Yes. Docile? Never.
They were movers and shakers. They stood up for injustices. They didn’t just sit around. They got things done.
I want to be like that when I grow up. I want to be Esther, fighting for her people or Annie Oakley showing up the men.
I want to be hard to pigeon hole.
That’s why it doesn’t matter to me if you believe Myers-Briggs or not. Somewhere inside me, I’m still sixteen. I’m still not fitting in.
And this time, it’s okay with me that I’m rare.
*The “`E’ the one who likes the crowd...” song came from the Missionary Learning Center in Richmond, Virginia. Several of the missionaries in training got together and composed songs about the experience. The songs were set to show tunes and the whole kit and caboodle was presented at the end of the eight weeks. I was only twelve at the time, but I can still sing several of them.