After taking the test to determine my top personality traits, I was amazed at how accurate such a test could be. It seemed unlikely that a handful of questions could determine the five most endearing characteristics that make me, well, me. Out of the twenty-four traits, my top five were shown on the bright colored page:
- Humor
- Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes.
- Humility
- Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is.
- Social Awareness
- Being aware of the motives/feelings of others and oneself; knowing what to do to fit into different social situations; knowing what makes other people tick.
- Love of Learning
- Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows.
- Bravery
- Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; speaking up for what’s right even if there’s opposition; acting on convictions even if unpopular; includes physical bravery but is not limited to it.
Is copy and pasting the quotes from the website academic misconduct? Just to be safe, I will note the URL at the bottom of the screen. All of this information has come from the VIA Institute on Character. (Better safe than sorry, calculus is taking up too much time to be fighting a legal battle.)
After looking at the entire list and understanding the different traits I was rated on, I realized that these five best described me. Not only that, but I enjoyed the placement of each trait. In fact, I was so excited to have humor in first place I shared it with all of my roommates (who said I would in fact get humor as my number one.) I also enjoy all of the other traits. I do not like to be boastful, I try to minimize my presence and make everyone feel comfortable around me, and I can be awfully brave if my morals are being threatened. However, that does not mean I am very confrontational. I am not. That just isn’t in me.
I think out of all of the traits, I enjoy using humor the most in my life. Humor is one of my favorite things in the world. Seeing my friends smile and hearing them laugh always brightens up my day. While I also love to learn, I feel that it is not as applicable when understanding others. Humor is what makes the world go round and it keeps me from stressing over the little things. I think that is one of the biggest strengths I have learned throughout my years. Sometimes, it is better to laugh at a situation and move on.
I have never given much thought into organizing my personality traits. I would not know how. But now that I have such a list, I am content with the answers. To be honest, I feel as if moving a trait is dishonest to myself. No, this test does not describe me entirely as a person. Saying such a thing would be crazy. In fact, it has barely scratched the surface of who I am. However, to move around the order of the list generated after answering the questions honestly feels futile and I feel that this test is fairly accurate. Despite its limitations, the test did fairly well at understanding a few key traits about me.
URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/Surveys/Finished/6135761