Mr. Poppins, bless his beating heart, asked me a question the other night. Honestly, I cannot believe he had to ask. I mean him, who shares my bed and sees the books on my nightstand daily, him of all people. I was almost speechless. I said almost, people.
Mr. Poppins asked me if I really needed to read any more books on personality type.
I shudder a little just typing that last sentence. I thought he knew me. Clearly I was deluding myself. But Mr. Poppins did not understand why that was a strange question. He explained that he assumed I must be an expert, know absolutely everything there is to know, have not one iota of knowledge left to acquire regarding personality type.
I appreciate the compliment, mais non.
I am only beginning to scratch the surface of what I want to know about personality type. I am still learning the basics. Only when I can make my own conjectures, establish my own theories, and generally achieve supreme typeliness (I had to make that word up), will I be able to rest. Because right now people, I am still learning to understand how to correctly identify type in others.
You might want to sit down for this next sentence, people:
I make mistakes.
You might gasp, shake your head in disbelief, cry out a resounding No! to the universe. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Can I tell you a secret? I mistyped Bookgirl. My longtime best friend, constant vacation companion, the woman whose pajamas I threw up on. I screwed the pooch when it came to identifying her core personality. Bookgirl would claim that it is because she is so unique as to be untypable but I do not believe such people exist. It is akin to believing there are people walking around without hearts, or lungs, or pedicures. It cannot be true. And so I persevere.
The truth is that Bookgirl and I have both had a hard time typing her from the beginning. I will admit she is a complicated creature, full of mystery and excitement, containing unexplored levels of depth, always changing and acquiring new facets. I mean if Bookgirl can't pin down her type, then who can? Granted, she claims I know her better than she knows herself, but I beg to differ. Bookgirl keeps secrets. Some would call it having a rich inner life but I call secrets, Hank bless it.
Bookgirl is loyal, she never forgets a birthday, she always shows up for a party, she seldom complains about anything. She insisted she was an S type. Insisted. I was too green to know better. Mostly, I was too green to make a clear explanation of the difference between N and S types. N type is hard to describe. But Bookgirl loves life, loves new experiences, loves everything. She must be an S.
Nope.
Bookgirl took the test again. I have to say that while I appreciate that test, it is easy to do, and it has the advantage of being free, that test is really not so great. The questions are often vague and confusing. I guess you get what you pay for. And you don't get what you don't pay for.
But I have been reading a new type book, one I will review later, and there was a description that struck me as being particularly Bookgirl. Did I mention that she took the test again? Right. She humors me. Anyway she came out eXfp. She was sure about everything but whether she was sensing or intuitive. So, she must fall either into the Idealist (NF) or the Artisan (SP) subgroup. Definitely not a Guardian (SJ) as was previously suspected.
Well, the new book cleared things up by describing Artisan (SP) and Idealist (NF) temperaments in children. Bookgirl agrees, there can no longer be any doubt about her type.
Bookgirl is absolutely an NF type.
No child has a more vivid imagination than the little darling who grew up to be Bookgirl. Not even J.K. Rowling.
If this is all so clear now, how could the confusion ever come to be, you might ask. And thank you for asking, because I have a theory:
Bookgirl thinks circles around most people and she does it all while snapping her fingers, playing hopscotch, and chewing bubble gum. Not really, but you get the point.
Bookgirl has a decidedly Splash Mountain feel to her despite being as deep as the Mariana Trench. When I am with Bookgirl, I am often so busy having fun that I often don't remember how serious and sensitive she can be.
Don't get me wrong, I know better, people.
I am only occasionally given access to Bookgirl's most personal, treasured thoughts and, let me tell you, they are intriguing and delightful, but I am quite often entertained by her bubbly displays generosity and hedonistic gusto. Bookgirl knows how to have a good time. You may remember my previous mention of her exceptional margarita skills.
Imagine if I had not read that last book and gone blithely through life thinking of Bookgirl as an ESFJ. I don't know how I would have lived myself.
The answer is Yes, Mr. Poppins. Decidedly yes.

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