Type

My friend Elspeth started a journal this time last year, at camp. Last week at camp everyone got a daily update of how many pages she had left to fill. She was rather intent on finishing in exactly 365 days.

Normally my journals are narrative at the front and not so in the back. I like to organize my thoughts into lists and I often start those on the end page, working in. So I suggested Elspeth fill some space with a list titled "Things I Currently Know About Myself." After-all, I've done this for years at the back of each journal I begin, I love to. And I never thought about whether or not it's a common practice. Turns out nobody in that room had ever made such a list and they all released a giggle at my idea.

To be honest, I believe in those lists (if they are honest) far more than I believe in a personality test. I haven't been interested in personality tests since I was fourteen. I don't feel like I need them or gain anything from them.

However, for the planning and growth my team hoped to accomplish at camp, we were required to take the Enneagram personality test. And I vouch for this because it doesn't stop at assigning you a type, it also gives suggestions for how to grow and who to learn from.

I read the general assessment of type pairings (couples) in hopes of some cheap marriage counseling. Who doesn't need a little counsel? I tested as a type One. And Jake tested as a Nine. Of course we've got other mixes in us, but I agree that those are our dominant types. I'd say this is almost spot on:

These types understand each other from the inside as it were, and for better or worse, can see many of their own traits in the other. On the positive side, each type brings a certain idealism and desire to change the world to make it a better place. Nines bring a more interpersonal orientation than Ones to their idealism, but both can be self-sacrificial and hard working, and willing to put their personal needs and interests aside for the welfare of others. Both are also able to delay rewards for a long-term good they seek. Ones bring clarity and rationality and the ability to articulate ideals and understandings. They strive to improve themselves and their environment, are conscientious, have high ethical and moral standards, and are fair and consistent. Nines bring a gentle, accepting quality that nurtures and supports others without as much explicit demand for self-improvement. Nines are steady, easy to get along with, feel uncritical and undemanding, and prefer harmony and smooth relations over the pleasure of being right or of having the last word in a situation.

In short, Nines tend to take a bit of the rough edge off of the criticality and seriousness of Ones, while Ones give clarity and direction to Nines. Further, Ones feel that they have a mission in life, and they are able to inspire Nines to become aware of their own purpose and to want to follow it. This can be a highly altruistic couple who balance idealism with humanity. As a couple, they are gracious company, hospitable and generous, but they also need time to be alone with each other as a couple. They have a mutual love of nature and animals that may bring them closer together, as well as their love of their children and family. Nines soothe Ones, while Ones remind Nines to strive for excellence.

I may be willing to admit that my lifelong dreams of self-discovery could be supplemented by personality tests!

In other news, nothing induces sloth quite like 100-degree weather. My goodness, I'm a wreck! And the worst part is I can't seem to handle anything sweet these days. So ice cream is out the window. And a batch of sea salt caramel brownies I finally had to make is sitting unconsumed.

And I think birch trees are majestic.