STEREOTYPICAL FLAWS
First draft was started in the first week of November. It’s the third week of December and I decided to continue.
I know you didn’t ask for my opinion but there should not be strict life rules.
The fact that you happened to come into the world before me doesn’t give YOU the right to make decisions on my behalf, really. I wish I could have a one on one with whoever Carl Jung is.
I know you discovered personality types and traits but really?
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I am very extroverted! I enjoy talking to people. Spending time talking with friends does to me what energy drinks do to the body. It keeps me smiling and high all day. Let me tell you a secret, yeah but there are times when I am not depressed but just not happy about anything in particular and all I have to do in those moments is just reminisce through past conversations with friends and smile.
Should all extroverts enjoy going out?
Should introverts be quiet and reserved and be home furnitures?
Interacting with people has made me realize that humans shouldn’t be boxed into stereotypes and personality boxes. A reserved person may enjoy being outside at all times. The life of a party might take absolute delight in being locked indoors with one or two friends.
Using myself as a case study, I talk a lot. I enjoy it actually but I don’t love being outside as in a party. I prefer being locked in with friends or leave me one or one with two or at most five persons in a room.
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Leaving this again until I have my thoughts together…
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Well, it’s the end of May now, and my thoughts are still not completely together, but one thing I’ve realised is this: I don’t need to fit anyone’s template to feel valid. I don’t need to tick every “extrovert” box before I’m accepted as one, or mute myself to be taken seriously by so-called “introvert” standards.
I am a mix. I am a blend. And maybe we all are.
People are not software programs. We are not fixed categories that should be predicted with one test or a single label. Today, I might crave loud conversations and deep laughs over suya and Pepsi with my friends. Tomorrow, I just want to lie in bed, binge-watch some cringey youtube movies, and reply nobody. And both days are valid. BOTH ARE ME. I can choose to attend an event and interact with every human present and the another I sit and mind my business until the end when I carry my bag and run home.
So when someone asks, “Are you an extrovert or introvert?” or “are you sanguine or choleric?” I honestly just smile now. Because the answer depends on when you’re asking, what’s going on in my life, who’s in the room, and even what kind of week I’ve had. And that’s okay.
We’re all unfolding. Evolving. Unboxing ourselves, whether we realize it or not.
So, no disrespect to Carl Jung or anyone who came up with personality theory — big ups to them, honestly. But maybe it’s time we started letting people define themselves moment by moment, experience by experience. Not everything has to be boxed or labelled or classified. Being human is complicated enough.
So here’s me, writing my thoughts out loud again, not to sound wise or deep — but to remind myself and maybe someone else reading this:
You don’t have to “make sense” to everybody.
You just have to be real with yourself!!!
TO THY OWN SELF, BE TRUE!
