WEEKEND-ENGAGEMENT 166 / Personality

What does the word personality meant to you and how does it fit into your life? Write 300+ words and you must use images that you photographed personally.

Personality is a difficult concept to define. In a broad sense we usually link this concept with the way a person think and act, because we generally act according to the way we think. Right? But, what determines whether we think or act in a certain way? What determines that our personality has certain characteristics? Our genetics? Our family context? Ambient around us? All these facts? I’m not sure, because sometimes brothers and sisters have different personalities. So, What defines our personality? That is a scientific matter that I was researching.

After I read several articles about personality and personality types, first interesting idea I found was that personality is not something rigid, personality can change over the course of a lifetime. Personality has three dimensions: 1.- Character: this dimension is determined by society, ambient around, influence of educational and cultural factors, what I know how “behavior”. 2.-Temperament: it’s biological basis of personality, our genetics characteristics. And 3.-Intelligence or cognitive behavior: our ability to pay attention, memory, learning, social skills. All these facts shape our personality.

So, depending on the personality, there are different forms of behavior, Carl Gustav Jung established in his theory of personality two basic forms of behavior: Extraversion or Intraversion. The extroverted type is focused on the outside world, has a great facility for social relationships, while the introverted type, on the other hand, remains at his inner world, and finds it difficult to relate to others socially. Since I remember I have been an introverted personality but when I became an adult I learned to relate better with other persons. When I was a child I was really introverted. I really loved books but not persons. That’s why I studied literature when I finished High School and afterwards I became a writer.

But when time passed I became a teacher. What a paradox! Because when you are a teacher you have to talk with many people. When I was professor at Central University of Venezuela I had 40 young students in my class. Many young students wanted to be journalists and I was their professor of writing and Venezuelan literature. It was not easy, but like I said, I developed some social skills when I became an adult. Now, my students of Creative Writing are 10 or less students, it’s a more comfortable situation for me because basically I have an introverted personality.

In addition to this basic division of personality types there are many others: altruistic personality, the kind of person that like to help other people, or selfish personality, who don’t like to do it. Charismatic personality, who frequently have an extroverted personality, sense of humour or controlling personality, who need to control persons and situations all the time. Creative personality, those who like to innovate.

I think that experiences, ambient, knowledge, situations can change our behavior, if I am in a party, for example, probably I will change my behavior, but I am not sure if those factors really can change my personality.