My Suitcase

     In Quiet as well as her TED talk, Susan Cain opened up my mind to a new level. I never before took the time to self-assess my own personality to the extent I did when doing the first blog post.
     I learned about what being ambiverted meant and how easy it would be to identify yourself as an ambivert.  We're all ambiverted, but the time and place of our actions can help clear up a more definite personality type. As I said before, I am somewhere between ambiverted and extroverted. Where exactly? I am not sure and never will have one spot on the personality spectrum.
     The whole idea of bringing a "suitcase" around with you is an idea I never even thought of.

Which items are in your suitcase? 

I have continued to think about that important question, even after the assignment was due. If I could fit little people into my suitcase, I would. The people who have served as mentors, coaches, friends, and teammates would all have their own velvet-lined character mold in my suitcase. My suitcase would probably be just a little beat up, since I keep clothing for a very long time before throwing them out. But, my suitcase would work like a charm. I take care of things that are close to me, so this would be well maintained.  My suitcase would fit me perfectly, and wouldn't be perfect for most people, but I am okay with that.

Unforgettably Clumsy

Have you ever climbed up or down the stairs and fell? Have you ever tripped over your own two feet? Do you feel embarrassed or shy because you know people are watching you make a fool of yourself? You are not alone; Neville Longbottom just knows how you feel. He is renown for getting into ridiculous situations that somehow ruin his pristine figure. Hogwarts is a place where wizards and witches learn skills to be the best that they can be. From casting spells to purifying potions, the school of learning is never ending or dull. Unfortunately for Neville Longbottom, he can't do anything without causing harm to himself or others. Neville is an important character in Harry Potter because he strives to be a better person. He is shy and timid, and yet stands up for what he believes in. His weakness (natural klutz) however, provokes him to work hard and to think fast. Yes Neville has a hard time remembering things, yes he is pressured by others, and yes he is gullible; therefore, why he ends up in the hospital so much. Even though these particular events occur in his life, they are what make him stand out from others. His unlucky grace and determination provide him opportunities to overcome his fears. His weakness is a symbol for progression. His weakness is a symbol for progression because you see him grow as a character throughout the book. Neville was an individual that stayed behind the curtain and watched everyone else take a turn in the spotlight. As he realized that being alone wasn't what he wanted, he broke out of habit, and the beginnings of a strong new character were coming to be. Neville is a force to be reckoned with and no one wants to take a hit at him. Neville Longbottom is a hard-working and caring individual who wants to be liked. Being a klutz comes naturally, but defining who one is as an individual takes a lifetime.

Learning Someones Personality

With this being a free write I would like to touch on Quiet a little more. When reading this book I learned more about peoples personalities then I ever new about. I learned how people act and why they act the way they do.


I like sitting back and looking at peoples personalities and who they are. But when you are around someone you see how there personality is but then if they go around someone else they act totally different.


But when some one shows up that someone does not like they change into someone else and have a totally different personality. I like seeing how people react to such things as snakes. For example if Cody was afraid of snakes and they snake follows him would not react in a good way. But if the snake was the go and hide Cody would react in a good way.


Things that go through my head when you watch some ones personality is why do they act like that?, why would they just not be calm and cool?. But everyone reacts different to things and not every ones personalities are the same.


But when some one shows up that someone does not like they change into someone else and have a totally different personality.

Developing an Extrovert

I am probably one of the few people who have not read Harry Potter previous to taking this class. Really I am not much of a reader to begin with. In fact, I would never choose to read Harry Potter on my own. I am finding myself pleasantly surprised. So surprised that once I started the book, I did not want to put it down. I see Harry as an introvert in the beginning of the book. I can’t wait to see if this changes throughout the book.

 I feel so bad for the way his aunt and uncle treat him. I am sure this treatment contributes to Harry’s introverted personality. I know that were are all born with certain personality traits but a lot depends on how we are brought up. Poor Harry. How does he even develop the confidence to even try to be one bit extroverted? I paid special attention to the details of his appearance. Clothes that did not fit, glasses held together with tape for example. Every time he tries to speak out he is either yelled at or dismissed. And that cousin of his is enough to drive anyone crazy. What a spoiled brat!

I get the impression Harry will come out on top by the end of the book. I believe this because the wand that Harry was paired with is a strong one. The same type that killed his parents and put the scar on his forehead. Harry is expected to shine in the wizard school and I believe he will. At his home with his aunt and uncle they didn't expect anything from Harry. If he were to stay there he most likely wouldn't amount to anything. In the wizard world Harry is an icon.  Most of the time, you get what you expect so I can’t wait to see how Harry’s personality develops. I am sure he will develop more extroverted personality as his confidence builds.

                                                                

Harry Potter: The Inspirational Talker

I have decided to free write about the first Harry Potter book. I have been reading the Harry Potter series since I was really young. It was always something that interested me. Harry Potter beat all of the odds from the very first line of the very first book. He had to fill the shoes of his parents and the live up to the ideas of the wizards that he was famous. He beat all the odds when he eventually defeated voldemort. Though it sounds a little funny, Harry Potter is an inspiration. I read the books mostly when I was in middle school. I had a lot of issues in middle school and high school. I was one of those kids who would rather have a book in my hand than talk to other people because it was easier, but I always wanted to have lots and lots of friends. The Harry Potter world was somewhere that I could 'go' to and escape the odd goings of a high school cafeteria. And like Harry Potter, I have lived up to and exceeded the dreams that people around me didn't think that I could reach.

Free Write

With this being a free write, I would like to talk about a video that I watched on the blog site that is called Colonizing space. I know this is not really a theme that I have learned about, but it was something that caught my attention. As a young kid, can you recall looking up at the sky and thinking to yourself that one day I will travel to outer space? Well, just maybe, that dream can become reality. There is talk of the United States one day colonizing mars. Mars got its name from the Romans after their God of war, because of its red color. Mars has water on it that is found in the Polar caps that would be easy to get to with the technology of today. Mars has carbon dioxide in its atmosphere that could be turned into oxygen and can be used to make energies that would stain Life. Mars is the second closest planet to earth. Mars is a six month travel in a rocket ship or roughly one hundred thirty thousand miles from earth. Mars has a day and night cycle similar to the earths cycle, but last just forty minutes longer. The United States is sending a machine to Mars in 2020 to study if in fact one day Mars could be colonized. I know this idea has many holes in it, but I think it is pretty cool to think about traveling in space. One day you might be able to travel to Mars for a vacation. With the Technology of today anything is possible. On the other hand, one thing I did learn in this class to date was how to write a paper in MLA format. With being a criminal justice major all the papers I have had so far in my college career had to be done in APA. The two formats are not much different, but MLA is still going to take me a little time to get used to. On a good note, I now know how to format properly in MLA.    

I Spy with My Little Eye...

I have learned more about personalities than I did in general psychology. After reading Quiet, I believe that is a better psychology book than the required textbook. Learning about true introverts and how and why they act broke the stereotype of the unending writing of any composition class. I got to learn, analyze, and express my thoughts on how they interact and I did not know how that I shared some of their traits. I enjoy learning and seeing how people tick and what makes them (re)act because I take those experiences and use it for pleasant surprises and avoid negative situations.
Learning about people's personalities is always interesting for me because they are like twins: there are no two that are identical because there are too many variables to factor in. Two people may enjoy the same activities and dislike the same foods, but their reactions to a situation could be polar opposites. For example, Jane Doe and Dawn Doe are identical twins, introverted, like the same movies, eat the same food, and have the same friends. One day, they needed to free their basement of spiders. They begin the chore and a spider falls on each of them. Jane screams and smacks the spider, killing it, and runs upstairs and never comes back. Dawn gasps but calmly takes the spider off her arm and places it in the bucket trying not to squish it. Neither sister has arachnophobia nor is allergic to spider bites.
Why did Jane react the way she did? Most introverts are calm, collected, and think before they act. The most probable answer is that she can socialize with a small group of friends, but when something unexpected occurs she overreacts and becomes a pseudo extrovert.