An analysis of the psyche (and other related matters)

It was no surprise to find out that I belong to the personality type that needed a structured group to work in. It was something that I always knew in the back of my mind and had accepted as part of myself without thinking , just like others would accept a mole or scar on their face.

I was always almost "goody-two-shoes" except perhaps that I wasn't that perfect, and others knew it too. "Goody-one-and-a-half-shoes" might hit the mark.

To tell the truth, I didn't like the answer all that much.

I have always had a thing against personality tests. Sure, I think they're much more reliable than astrology. I used to believe in astrology, and even studied it some, until one day an acute bout of cynicism caused me to reevaluate my current psychological state. How could my physical and emotional well-being be affected by a bunch of planets and several arbitrary arrangements of stars several light-years away, too far to even cause a ripple in the ocean?

Personality tests, in similar vein, are also a bane to me. To limit myself and the improvement of my emotional IQ by the aftermath of that test is an abhorrent thought. If you have ever taken personality tests with close friends, you'll know what I mean. Years after, you experience the repercussions of the test you did when you were five years old: "He's an introvert, don't expect him to do this or that, or go to a blind date, or go to a tango class." Humbug!

A friend of mine happens to share the same view as I. He's famous for breaking rules, in fact, he's broken so many that the previous ones are always quickly forgotten in favour of the gossip (and laughter) generated by the latest. In his youth, he defied death in an accident. He deliberately skipped classes even while attending one of the best courses in one of the best universities, and passed with flying colours. He once drank a bottle of Listerine that I had labelled "Do NOT drink -- Listerine." And even ate noodles with moldy, fungus-covered wooden chopsticks without batting an eyelid.

Its people like him that inspire me to want to test the boundaries of indoctrination by the education system. I wonder if I could live life with the same flair he does, and survive. It's interesting that while he does have a certain disregard for authority and the awe that usually accompanies it, he also possesses a knack for knowing which rules are inflexible and strictly cannot be broken. Everyone likes him. Everyone thinks he's fun to have around, even old, strict spinsters treat him like a son.

Break the rules. Go wild. Live Life. (And all the other NikeTM chants.)

You can't define people like him using any old personality test, ever. That's what I'd like to be too. One day.