Personality Inventory

"Be yourself; everybody else is taken."

This has always been one of my favorite quotes! When discovering who we are as people, it is important to make sure that we are true to who we are. This isn't as simple as it seems however, because it leaves us with the big question: Who am I? What is my personality?

When taking inventory of my personality, I took both the Holland and Meyers-Briggs tests. On the Holland test, I got "SEC" and "ESC," My results were as follows:
Investigative: 5
Artistic: 5
Social: 15 *highest
Enterprising: 15 *highest
Conventional: 9
This essentially means that according to the Holland personality test, I am social, full of initiative, traditional, and that I don't have particularly high investigative or artistic qualities. I wouldn't necissarily agree or disagree with this assesment; I would indeed consider myself a social person, I am typically pretty full of initiative, but I don't always go the traditional route. Although I do love a lot of traditional styles, and am not opposed to structure, I also really love a lot of new and creative approaches. I am also very curious about a lot of things and love to read and find out new facts all the time; I would definitely rate myself as more investigative than this test did.

On the Meyers-Briggs test, I received: ENFJ

Extravert(53%)  iNtuitive(28%)  Feeling(47%)  Judging(19%)

• You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (53%)
• You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (28%)
• You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (47%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (19%)

I do agree that I am an extrovert with some definite introverted qualities. I also do follow my heart and gut more than "sensing" and "thinking". 

I think it is important to know this for both the workplace and my personal life because even if this test isn't completely accurate, I do love to know the areas that I can build up and which ones I can continue to work on to be the best I can be always!

Success in my Eyes

"Success isn't about how much money you make; it's about the difference you make in people's lives." -Michelle Obama

Success is defined in many different ways by many different people. That, to me, makes the word that much more beautiful and powerful. My definition, is similar to Michelle Obama's. Success to me, is making a difference in people's lives, including my own. Success in my eyes has no scale, and can be found in even the smallest of things. For me personally, success is an intrinsic, non-tangible emotion that I get. Success for me, is laying down in my bed at the end of the day and feeling satisfied with the way that I am living my life. Success can be found in small every day things; making a new recipe, getting a friend a killer birthday present, doing really well on a test that I studied my booty off for, nailing a new workout, perfecting a new yoga pose, etc. The list is really endless for the things that make me feel like a success on a day to day basis. However, with that being said, some successes are stronger than others, and give a higher feeling of achievement. I love the Stephen Hogan quote that says, "You can't have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic." This statement couldn't be more true. I think it is incredibly important to always strive for magnificent things: even aiming for the seemingly impossible. Having goals and making future plans is vital to growing as a person. But we must remember with this, that success is not just that end result. There are a million small successes along the way, and I believe they deserve to be celebrated. I don't think money, fame or status can measure one's success and worth. I know what makes me truly happy, and when I am laying on my death bed looking back at life, the success that will stand out to me, will most definitely not be measured in dollar signs or any other materialistic entity.

Goals

"Do something today that your future self will thank you for." With that quote in mind, it is most definitely time for me to do some self-reflection and goal setting. Although there are many ways that I can improve, these are my top 5 goals for the next year:

1. Be the best, healthiest version of me that I can be! This includes keeping track of my food in a food journal, keeping track of my calories and steps on a fitbit, and making sure I go to the gym at least 3x a week.
2. Pay it forward, make the world a better place in any way I can, always. This means a multitude of things, on a daily basis. However, the tangible major outcome that this goal strives for is to continue raising $25,000 to build a school in Ghana. In regards to that specific goal, I have made it a goal to get at least 2 tangible sources of donations and income a month for this organization until I have reached my goal.
3. Make 20 minutes of “me” time each day and spend that time growing myself. This is one of my favorite goals because it gives me a date with myself each day. I love the peacefulness of mornings, and find that this is the time I do my best reflecting. I can spend this time journaling, reading, drinking tea, stretching, listening to music, going for a quick morning walk, etc. This time is my time disconnected from my phone, my friends/family, and my responsibilities. This time is purely for myself.
4. Organize my life--literally! I am going to get a planner this weekend, and make sure I schedule out my time so that I have actual “appointments” with myself and make everything fit into my life. In this goal, I would also like to include writing down everything! I need to have one place where all my homework and due dates are written.
5. Keeping up with my car and room tidiness. I don’t know why this has always been such a struggle for me, but I really need to work on making sure both of these areas remain nice and neat at all times. If anything is in my car when I park it for the night, I need to make sure to take it out then and there. If I take a piece of clothing off a hanger, I need to make sure I put it back on the hanger right away and do not throw it on the floor. In addition to all of this, I would like to start decluttering my room one step at a time. With college right around the corner, it is time to get rid of all the clothes I do not wear, consolidate makeup and hair products I don’t often use, the books I won’t read again, and tackle the boxes under my bed!

Thinking long and hard about where I would like to see myself in a year, was a total learning experience. Something that really stuck out to me throughout this process was that my goals have been the same for a long time, and that it is truly time that I start making them a reality. I also came to the realization that I should start using, on myself, the same tactics for motivation that I use on kids I babysit, tutor, and used to work with when I was at Club Sport. I have seen really cool ideas to keep people accountable for their goals on Pinterest before, and I want to incorporate them into my life. As silly as it seems, I think having a goal chart and using stickers on the days that I go to the gym, do my quiet time, etc. will really help me. I am going to make my "sticker chart" this weekend (similar to the one posted below) and I will buy different color stickers for each goal so that the chart is color coded! By having the chart hanging up, it will give me a great visual for motivation to keep me focused. In the mornings, it reminds me of my goals and helps me strive for them, and at night, it helps me reflect on my day: what I did well, what I can improve upon, and how I feel in regards to my goal. I want to have visuals of my goals all around my bedroom both now and in college, because it will help me wake up with determination and strive to go to bed with satisfaction.

I think the hardest part for me about defining all my goals was realizing seriously how long I have had majority of my goals and the fact that I am nowhere near where I would like to be in regards to them. It is crazy how busy and stressful life can be, and it truly is hard to remember that self-growth is one of the most important things we must incorporate into our day to day lives. For anyone that is like me, it is really easy to put yourself last and your personal goals on the back-burner. I go to school, I take AP classes, I’m fundraising to build a school in Ghana, I have a job, I nanny, I tutor, I have chores at home, and I have a social/family life. My schedule is not uncommon; being busy is the way most people like to be. However, having so many commitments makes it much harder to work on one’s self. Time is the most valuable and precious gift that we all have, and managing how we spend that time is no easy feat. However, I think by taking baby steps, or as Mrs. G says, “steps that are so small that you cannot fail,” goals become much more attainable. I look forward to accomplishing these goals and giving my future self something to thank current me for.

Living for Your Eulogy

Are you living for your resume or eulogy? 

This powerful question was first introduced to me in David Brooks Ted Talk. (Which I highly recommend!) This statement really got me to thinking about how much more there is to life than how a person looks on paper. (For even more information on this, check out this article from the New York Times!) On an individual basis, happiness is the most important thing to arguably anyone. Yet, it is such a rare commodity because of what society teaches us to place value upon. It is important that we do not lose ourselves to this, and that we strive to be the best that we can be. I aspire to be an outgoing, worldly, bubbly, loving person who adds positivity to the world; a goal that can only be achieved by working on myself and "strengthening my eulogy." To strengthen ones eulogy and become the very best version of yourself, it is vitally important to be self-fulfilled. This is why, I decided to enclose a bucket list of some of my top 50 goals and adventures I hope to embark on in this lifetime. Without further ado, this is my plan to strengthen my eulogy; here is my bucket list:

1. Meet Sophia Bush… She is my idol and forever will be my answer to the infamous question of “If you could eat dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?”
2. Be comfortable enough financially to only buy sustainable goods when given a choice; although this is usually the less economical option, it is the only option for a better, more humane and environmentally friendly world.
3. Be a Big Sister as a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America foundation. It is such an incredible platform to make a difference in someone’s life.
4. Go to Australia
5. Hit the Swiss Alps one winter (even if that just means drinking hot cocoa in the ski lodge)
6. Change the self-image many people have (especially body image for young girls) through ads/marketing campaigns for a company that enables people to feel confident in who they are. I have always wanted to go into this field to create a new standard for media.
7. Participate in a traditional wish-lantern celebration (either in another country or for a wedding...or both)
8. Ride elephants in Thailand or India
9. Do more research on Buddhism and meditation...I have always been intrigued by these concepts and would love to learn more.
10. Go on a wine-tasting trip in a limo and go to a bunch of different wineries with my girlfriends… I have watched my mom do this and it just seems so fun!
11. Keep a lifestyle blog with a large following
12. Raise the rest of my $25,000 and build a school in Ghana. I am so excited to meet those kids!
13. Go on an African safari
14. Be in a music video, commercial, movie, etc (even if just as an extra :)
15. Sit outside at a Parisian cafe with a croissant in hand
16. Really experience the Eiffel tower: (Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, go to the top of the eiffel tower, see the eiffel tower at night, etc)
17. Meet some of my family in France
18. Have a beautiful, genuinely love-filled, wedding that is straight off my pinterest board
19. Add a Lock to the Love Lock Bridge in Paris
20. Rescue a puppy
21. Have kids! My friends all joke that I am “a mom” and although I am in no rush, I am very excited to one day be a parent.
22. Buy a house that I am proud to call home
23. Host parties and BBQ’s at my house, I want to be the gathering place. Furthermore, to BBQ an incredible steak for my dad while having my parents over for dinner. He has always told me as I’ve grown up that this is something he greatly looks forward to.
24. Vacation in an overwater bungalow in the bahamas
25. See the Ellen show live (and keep my fingers crossed that it's one of those super cool giveaway ones)
26. Run a marathon
27. Do a color run
28. Eat in an underwater restaurant
29. Visit the Louvre
30. Cook amazing dinners for my family every night the way my mom does for our family. We have so many amazing family recipies and I hope to carry on the legacy of our family cookbooks.
31. See a broadway show in New York
32. Ride a gondola in Venice, Italy
33. Zipline through the jungles of Costa Rica
34. Visit all 7 continents, make at least one friend in every one of them
35. Visit all 50 states
36. See the Northern Lights
37. Finish a journal. I have wanted to keep a journal for years, I would love to actually finish one.
38. Pay a stranger’s restaurant bill. I love all the “pay it forward movements” and I don’t want this to be a one time bucket list item, I would love to do this often.
39. Throw a Coin and Make a Wish in the Trevi Fountain in Italy
40. Drink Beer at Oktoberfest in Germany
41. Helicopter over a Volcano
42. skydive...such a cliche but it definitely deserves a spot on my list!
43. Graduate college
44. have “tea time” in England and wear a cool hat
45. Go to Santorini Greece
46. Explore Rome
47. Explore Spain
48. Ride the London Eye
49. Visit all seven wonders of the world
50. Be in Times Square on NYE and watch the ball drop
    

Lean In followup

"In the future there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

-Sheryl Sandberg 

This has to be one of my favorite Sandberg quotes from her book, Lean In. Even in this day and age where it seems that so many strides have been made for women, we still have so far to go. I love that this quote recognizes the progress women have made by stating that we do, in fact, have women leaders. Yet, it also shows how far we have to go. I appreciate the recognition of what so many amazing women before have created or us, while still continuing to pursue the fight and spread the fact that we truly do still have a long ways to go. As a country, we like to pride ourselves on things like "having women leaders" or "having a black president" when in reality what we have is a leader; what we have is a president. When a man runs a company, no body would refer to him as their "male boss." Just as Americans didn't go around bragging when Bush was elected that our president was white. I love that this quote makes the distinction that being a woman doesn't make you any less of a leader; despite the microaggressions that sayings like "female leader" carry. 

As I mentioned in my last post about this book, Lean In is a self-help/history of business/autobiography/feminist movement book with the goal of raising awareness of the inequalities between men and women in the workplace, the reasons why these difference exist, and what we can all do to combat it. Sandberg shares many personal stories as well as stories of colleagues, friends, and women from all over the world to really emphasize her point of what can happen when women decide to lean in. She really did a great job of opening my eyes to a tremendous amount of information that I had never thought about. In my iQuest journey, I have been underestimated less for my gender, but more for my age. As I get ready to enter the work force as a woman, it is wonderful to have the knowledge that Sandberg provides while being able to personally relate to much of the discrimination that Sandberg discusses, even if my experiences have been for different reasons. Though being a woman has not had a negative effect on me up to this point in my life, being a teenager has and it is interesting how closely these two parallel each other. My mom has always explained that learning any sort of lesson-either through experience of otherwise-provides you with tools in your metaphoric "tool belt." This book provided me with many tools and left me feeling much more confident and ready to take on the corporate world. For any women or men that have an interest in feminism, the history of women in the workplace, or an interest in a corporate career, I would highly recumbent Lean In. 

Ted Talk: My Daughter Malala

"Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so hard?"

I recently watched an amazing Ted Talk that I thought I would share. "My Daughter Malala" was presented by Ziauddin Yousafzai in March of 2014. Yousafzai spoke about the treatment of women and girls in patriarchal societies and the impact that his daughter Malala has made.
For anyone who hasn't heard Malala's story: On October 9, 2012, a young Malala (11 years old) was shot in the head by the Taliban for simply going to school and speaking out on behalf of women's educational rights.
Yousafzai started out his powerful speech by stating, "Before [Malala got shot in the head for standing up for education] she was my daughter, now I am her father." This statement speaks volumes-especially considering the set up of the society Yousafzai lives in.
No matter your passion, I recommend this Ted Talk to all. It's inspirational, emotional, and gives such a great perspective on the real issues of the world. Yousafzai speaks about the women of Pakistan; it is extremely hard to envision a life where women and girls suffer such deep oppression. Yet in these patriarchal societies, from the moment a girl is born, she is unwelcome. Women and girls are not celebrated in Pakistani. In fact, Yousafzai speaks about how women are mortified and shameful when they find out they had a daughter.
From birth, girls have to watch their brothers go to school while they stay home. After a girl turns 12, however, it gets worse. For after a girl in Pakistan turns 12, she is not allowed to leave the house without a male escort-ever. She is confined in the four walls of her home; if a woman decides to disobey, she runs the risk of being killed. Yousafzai did not want this life for his daughter, and encouraged Malala to attend his school. Malala's successes in school motivated her to speak out so that all women and girls would have this same opportunity. Malala's passion and activism have made Yousafzai extremely proud. When being asked what he did to make her so special, he responds, "I did not clip her wings, and that a is all."
It truly is amazing what an education can do. The power that it gives an individual, the wings it gives them to soar is incomparable to any other privilege. I say we take Yousafzai and Malala's advice; focus less on building tanks and focus more on building schools so we can avoid clipping the wings of others.  

The Virtue of Kindness

"Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like."

In the superficial world we live in today, the simple virtue of kindness seems to have been lost in translation. It's been said that, "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." It really is amazing how much of a difference one small act of kindness can make. Quite lengthy, but worth the read; This is my very favorite illustration of the enormous impact that one small act of kindness can make. Click here to read the story of Kyle.

On a more personal level, recently, my friends and iQuest-mates Luke, Rylie, and I made "helping hands" as a random act of kindness. We wrote inspirational quotes on these
 hands and passed them out around campus to brighten peoples day. This little act was actually so much more rewarding than I thought it would be! The hands were a cute and fun idea, and the quotes were thoughtfully picked by the three of us, so they definitely could have spoken to people on their own. However, I think that the human interaction is what really made an impact. In this generation, many people (myself included) get wrapped up in their own lives and sometimes forget to acknowledge others-especially strangers. It was a special experience to make eye contact with people I didn't know and exchange a smile. Such a simple act boosted the happiness of Luke, Rylie, myself and all the recipients of these hands. This alone is very encouraging to continue to do small acts like this.

As preached by Scott Dinsmore, who was Mrs. Gagnon's very close friend, we should all "Spend kindness like it's money and pretend you're a billionaire." We could all do a better job of spreading kindness-it's time we all started living like billionaires.