Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

August 25, 2009

the cooper family: myers-briggs.

i went to my parents' house tonight for dinner and to help anna with her pre-calc. after we'd finished her homework and i'd helped her all i could, we (my mom, dad, anna and i) got into a conversation about the myers-briggs personality test. apparently my family had just taken the test recently or something cause my mom already had all the results listed out except for mine. i already knew mine too, but i retook it when i got home just to confirm.

here are my 5 family members' results:

dad - ESTJ - implementer supervisor - "Because they naturally devise systems, procedures, and schedules, others rely on ESTJ s to take charge and get things done. Others may also find them overpowering at times because ESTJ s are so certain about how things should be. Because they are clear and straightforward in their communication, people seldom have to wonder where they stand."

mom - ISTJ - planner inspector - "ISTJs are sociable when comfortable in the roles they are playing; however, they generally do not share their wealth of rich Sensing observations and memories except with close friends. Others see ISTJ standards and judgments, their desire for structure and schedules, but they may not see their individual, sometimes humorous, private reactions."

holly - ESFJ - facilitator caretaker - "ESFJs are energized by interaction with others and genuinely interested in others' lives and concerns. They feel most comfortable in structured situations and enjoy creating order, structure and schedules. They prefer to do things the traditional and accepted way."

anna - ENFJ - envisoner mentor - "ENFJ s are energetic, enthusiastic, and very aware of others. Their genuine interest can usually draw out and involve even the most reserved person. They listen to and support others, but also have a very definite values and opinions of their own, which they will express clearly. ENFJs are energized by people and are socially adept; however, they also have a strong need for authentic, intimate relationships."

adam - ENTP - explorer inventor - "ENTP s are spontaneous and adaptable. They find schedules and standard operating procedures confining and work around them whenever possible. They are remarkably insightful about the attitudes of others, and their enthusiasm and energy can mobilize people to support their vision."

all 5 different, but i think all 5 are spot on in their descriptions. i think it's really cool how unique my family is separate from each other, but when we all get together we seem to mesh so well. the 5 combinations all seem to interweave somewhat...actually, in order to further illustrate my point, i'm going to create a diagram. for all you visual learners out there.

easily the coolest diagram i've made in the last 48 hours. maybe even 72. just threw it together in paintbrush (the mac version of the paint program for windows...i'll admit, not as good.)

anyway. it's a cool visualization i think. it's neat to see that - with the exception of my mom being the only introvert and my being the only perceiver - we all share all our traits with at least one other person around the circle. 4 of the traits are shared by at least three people. 2 of the traits (extrovert and judging) are shared by everyone buy one person (my mom and me respectively). it's fun to see the differences and similarities. i encourage you all to look into this with your family(s); if only to see what each other is. it's really fun.

i just wish we'd done this as a family years ago, it would have made family vacations so much less of a burden.

-ap.

March 03, 2008

you dont know Jack.

this past weekend i took a trip down to nowata, oklahoma, to visit my mom's side of the fam. my cousin and his wife have a 10 week old baby that needed to be introduced to the cooper family, but this post isn't about that.

i had a borderline scary epiphany at lunch on saturday. you see, my grandpa jack - like most other grandfathers - tells a lot of stories. this is probably to do the fact that his 80th birthday is in 11 days and so he's got 58 more years worth of stories than i do. the man is extremely smart and impresses me often with his knowledge about pretty much everything.

but at lunch on saturday i got to thinking.

he was telling a story about some keen fella he used to know who had six toes. and for just a moment i departed from my nodding and realized that his story sounded a little bogus. this thought frightened me. i don't think i've ever doubted my grandpa before - i just assume he's telling the truth and full of wisdom about everything. for the first time in my life i'd started to listen to my grandpa critically.

i continued this for the rest of my trip, and i started to wonder how many times he had told me a completely fabricated story. he could've been lying his whole life and i would've just soaked it up like it was the perfect truth. honestly, i still believe he doesn't make anything up, but if he had decided to pull one over on me there is no way i would've caught it. i think thats hilarious and impresses me even more.

i'd be terrible playing mafia with him. glad we didnt play.

i dont think i'll ever spend a weekend doubting my grandpa again. its just too unsettling. it makes you wonder if anything you've ever known is true.

but i know my cuz besty and baby blake are adorable:


-ap.