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Those of you who follow me on Tumblr http://2funnygirl.tumblr.com/ will have noticed that I'm currently doing one of those challenge thingymebobs over X number of days. So far it has covered topics as varied as my passion in life (no, not Matt Smith) to how I see myself in 10 years time(hint: I don't!). Today's topic is "What is your Myers Brigg personality?". I had to look that one up. Apparently it is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. It is based on a theory developed by Carl Jung and identifies 4 types from 8 dichotomies (ooh, that's a big world for this blog - basically it means sub-divisions) - Extraversion(E),Introversion (I), Sensing(S), Intuition (N),Thinking(T), Feeling (F), Judging(J)and Perception (P). E and I are your attitudes, S, N, T and F are your functions and J and P are your lifestyle. To do the test properly costs money so being the skinflint thrifty gal that I am (there's your basic personality analysis there) I did a short online one to give me a rough indication. After answering a set of questions I got the result ISFJ which means I am slightly Introverted, moderately Sensing and Feeling and very Judging. First of all, the Introverted was a surprise - I mean, someone who has done stand-up comedy and now does acting, physical theatre and dancing is hardly introverted! OK, it was only by a factor of 17% more but still. Of the 2 functions, sensing is my dominant one (31% more than using intuition) versus 25% more feeling than thinking. I suppose those two could be right - sensing is how I gather my information and feeling applies to how I make my decisions. Strangely, given that, how I interact with the world (my lifestyle) is judging as opposed to perceiving. That means that my "feeling" and "judging" make me empathetic and that I like to "have matters settled". Also ISFJ means I am a "Protector". So I look at these results and thought, yeah that's me. But is it? I mean, of course I'm going to agree with things when they are positive. It's the same reason I don't read my horroscopes, apart from the one in the Onion, which for this month says "There's almost certainly more to life than lying around watching old episodes of Friends all day, but hey, it's enough." I mean, it's all hogwash in the end. Why are we so obsessed with labelling ourselves? There's a lot of guff on sites like Tumblr about how geeks are supposed to be all introverted and shy. Now sure, that's OK when you are 15 but not when you are (nearly) 45! Sure, some people are always going to be shy but experience has taught me (I used to like to think I was "deep" as well as shy) that if you hang back and don't speak up a) you miss out because all the more confident people steam in to grab the best stuff and b) if you step up and volunteer to be first to have a go not only does it earn you brownie points but it means it's over and you can relax. One label I'm trying really hard to shuck off is "disabled". I have been "disabled" by my afflictions - ME has hit me like a motherfucker sometimes - and I'll admit it has lost me a huge chunk of the last 9 years. I accept that most of that time I couldn't have done much about it - I kept working when I should have been at home - but I say no more to that. At the moment I'm feeling better than I have done for years and what with all my activities and looking at volunteering and perhaps going back to work, it will be one I'll be glad to leave behind me. What other labels do we saddle ourselves with? Some are a perceived to be a matter of fact - I am a mother, I am a woman and I am 45. But a woman who hasn't had her own biological children but looks after those she cares for is no less a mother. Transexuals and sisters who have undergone mastectomies and hysterectomies are no less women. And 45 is just a chronological record of how many times this rock has spun around the star we call the Sun since I was birthed. A lot of things we say we are instead are what we feel - I am tired vs. I feel tired, I am unattractive vs. I feel unattractive, I am hungry vs. I feel hungry etc. When I think about it, I am not a lot of things but I like to do a whole host of things e.g. I am not a writer but I like to write, I am not a cook but I like to cook. Other people say I am many things - brave, sexy, funny, wierd, fat. And I'm sure (in fact, I am certain) there are many people who would tell you I am a stone-cold bitch! It's all true. And it's all lies. At the end of the day, all I can say is I AM ME. And I'm cool with that x