A Hodgepodge of E's and I's, P's and J's

If you know me well (or if you even know me at all) you probably know that I have a mild obsession with the study of personality types. OK, maybe "mild" isn't a good adjective to use here; it might be a major obsession of mine, but--hey!--everyone has their quirks. I am particularly fascinated by the typology test known as the "Myers-Briggs", and I must admit that I put more stock into it than I probably should. I find it, however, to be surprisingly accurate in most instances, and I find that it feeds my desire to put everything inside of a tangible box: "You don't understand me? Well, it's probably because I'm an ENFP and you're an ISTJ. End of story." To the curious interest of some and the incredible annoyance of others, I have made most of my friends (and sometimes even new acquaintances) take the test; sometimes more than once. I then proceed to analyze everyone accordingly from that point on: "There you go again straightening the card pile. It must be the 'J' in you." Some might write this off as a serious character flaw of mine, but I might heartily disagree. I view the process of studying personality as incredibly important in understanding our fellow person and for the development of healthy relationships. Call me a nerd, but it's the way I roll.

I recently had a group of my friends here in Korea take the typology test one night while we were crowded around a friend's living room for a game of Euchre. They pretended to be annoyed and proceeded to give me an exceptionally hard time for being weird and adamant about the test, but I think they secretly enjoyed it and found it almost as fascinating as I do. I mean, honestly, I didn't make them take the test; I just nagged them about it for a few hours until they begrudgingly complied. After everyone had answered the questions and tallied up their scores, I looked over the test results and was intrigued by the overwhelming number of NF's sitting in the room. (For those of you who know absolutely nothing of what I'm talking about at the moment, I highly recommend reading up on the many different personality types. It really is enlightening and fascinating, at best.)

Ever since I arrived in Korea, I have been increasingly intrigued by the many different breeds of foreigners who reside here. I mean, honestly, it goes without saying that there are definitely some odd ducks in this pond. We're all here for different reasons, whether it be financial, social, or an escapism of some sort, but there is something that most definitely ties us together somehow. I used to think our "bond" revolved around a generational issue: We're all trying to figure our lives out, so we're in Korea seeking money to pay off our sky-high debt and to take a stab at the adventurous unknown. I still think our reasons for being here and the tie that binds us are undoubtedly generation-related. I don't think I need to make a hard case to prove that most of us who fall within the Generation X bracket are exceptionally lost and desperately trying to discover our niche in life. If you're a Generation X-er and you feel satisfied with where you are and the path you have chosen, I would venture to say that you might be one of the lucky few. Or maybe you just don't possess an ounce of self-awareness.

Back to the personality test. Although I think Generation X-ers share a common life-placement-problem, I think we all deal with it differently, perhaps based on our personality types. As I'm learning about my fellow Gen X-ers on this side of the globe--the Gen X-ers who are searching for an answer to the big "What?" anywhere other than home--I'm finding that our personality types are astonishingly similar. Now, my question is this: Does our personality type determine the course we might take in life? Are certain personality types inclined to travel and live life on "the edge" (is that what this is??), while others are more career-driven and home-based? Am I putting way too much stock into standardized testing, or are they insanely accurate?

Take the test and let me know what you think. I love, love, love talking about this stuff (and I apparently have way too much time on my hands).