I’ve always been interested in the idea of self and personal identity. Although this is not necessarily a science related post, it is a topic I am genuinely interested in. From Buzzfeed quizzes to astrological signs, the idea of self identity has been a topic on the minds of everyone at some point in their life. The idea of self is complex in my view since my view of myself is different than how others view me; I act differently depending on my surroundings and the people I’m with. I often wonder how much my idea of self and my personality has been shaped by reading up on things such as my astrological sign or the Myers-Briggs test, or how others perceptions of me influenced the way I am now.
Here I’m going to be viewing the results between the Myers Brigg 16 personalities test and astrology. I will be comparing my results from the 16 personalities test and my astrological sign to see how similar they are to each other. Each “fact” about my personality will be coming straight from the websites/ apps that I used to avoid misinterpreting/ changing the meaning behind the traits. In the end, I will be sharing my thoughts on the results and how I feel about these “personality tools and traits” and how it relates to the idea of self.
Note: The results of the Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test are beyond the Hank Green quote, as well as the traits related to my astrological sign.
In all honesty, it’s difficult for me not to call astrology bull and to take it seriously. The idea of the stars and planets determining who you are as a person just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s fun tho! I can confidently say that my Sun sign is Virgo, Moon is Aquarius, and Ascending is Libra. It’s fun to read your horoscope every now and then and think “OMG that’s so me!” or “Woah… why is this so true??”.
Going through these results overwhelmed me quite a bit. I wasn’t aware of the houses and planets in astrology and these also influence the way you act/ feel throughout your life. I decided to just focus on the main sign that everyone knows which is the Sun sign because that’s just too much stuff to go through. As I read through the Virgo traits, I realized that I have known them since I was a kid; I forgot that I got a Virgo info book for my birthday at one point.
Learning about all of those traits when I was younger has impacted the way I saw myself and how I acted. Virgos are generally: hard-working, creative, reliable, picky, patient, smart, reliable, overthinking, critical, etc. The Moon and the Ascendant signs are also very relatable and I can see those traits in me, but those aren’t the focus of this post.
The 16 personalities test I feel is more accurate since it is a test and is based on your answers and how you see yourself. I have taken this test 2 times before, I received a different personality each time. What does this say about me? Well, I believe that I’ve changed as the years go by.
I’ve gotten ENTP-T, ISTJ-T, and now INFJ-T. Each time I took the test was at a different point in my life. As the years go by I become more aware of who I am, and how I feel and see myself. I believe INFJ-T best represents me at this point of my life (which honestly is a really nice point). INFJ-T people are gentle, caring, and creative, and are idealistic with high standards for themselves.
As I read through all the information between astrology and the Myers-Briggs personalities, I’m somewhat surprised to see some overlap between the two. Both Virgos and INFJ peoples (based on what I have looked up) are creative, have high standards for themselves, overthink, are caring, perfectionists, practical/ logical, and generally think about others before themselves.
As I am writing this post, I’ve come to realize that the things I’ve learned about being a Virgo has led me to have an INFJ-T personality. They have definitely influenced the way I see myself, the way I act around others, and the choices I make. In a way they have provided me with a template to base myself on and to decide where to go from there.
Things like astrology and these personality tests I think can have both positive and negative affects. The negatives being people might take these things so seriously and believe that these traits about them are absolute fact. When I was little I believed that I should act like a Virgo and be the overall model of that sign. I didn’t know any better; I tried so hard to have all the Virgo traits that I failed to see that I was dictating everything on something that wasn’t even fact. I would also use some of those traits to validate my behaviour. Looking back I can’t believe how hard I was on myself to be the perfect model. Sometimes you have to remind yourself when you take these tools and tests shouldn’t box you in. The positives of these things are that these can provide a basis to ones characteristics, from which they can grow from. Now that I have come to an understanding on myself, I can see now that although I took these personality tests/traits way too seriously, they provided me the basis to who I am today and how I view myself.
As I grow older and become more aware of myself and who I want to be, I can only hope that I chose the right traits to become my ideal self and that I continue to grow as a person to maintain the traits that I believe define me as a person.
Back in 2016 I watched a video by the Vlogbrothers called “Who Am I?! – Some Thoughts About Personal Identity” , in which Hank Green goes on to talk about personal identity. I think the videos description sort of sums up how I feel:
It’s difficult to understate the affect that other people’s perceptions have on the kind of person you end up being. Of course, we also have tendencies and traits that are built into us, but mostly I think our selves are constructed out of what we need to become and what we are asked to become. And, in best cases, our selves are constructed by what we want to become… built with thoughtfulness and care.
– Hank green | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gmPxr65brg
The next page has my Myers-Briggs results as well as the traits associated with it. Information regarding my astrological sign are also located on the next page.
Noemi’s Corner 
INFJs rock 😊
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