I'm gonna smash it up till there's nothing left ([info]shmivejournal) wrote,
@ 2007-01-24 15:57:00
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personality
Poll #913326 personality
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Do you believe, excepting confidence in your abilities, that your personality is significantly different than it was when you were 8 years old?

View Answers

yes
108 (50.2%)

no
107 (49.8%)


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[info]xequalsfun
2007-01-24 08:58 pm UTC (link)
I think there are plenty of people it isn't true for...but in my case, I think it's true.

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[info]misshepeshu
2007-01-24 09:03 pm UTC (link)
The answer is "No"; however, my personality isn't significantly different than it was when I was about 12 or so.

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-24 09:07 pm UTC (link)
Do you think that was a puberty thing kicking in?

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[info]misshepeshu
2007-01-24 09:28 pm UTC (link)
Not really. The process started when I was about 9 or 10 years old, when I realized two different things:

1. Everyone I loved was going to die at some point. And since I was the youngest in the family, that meant that odds were high I was going to witness their deaths.

2. I was a little asshole, and people didn't really like me too much--for good reason.

They were only peripherally related, but somehow that kick-started my weird little brain into thinking about my actions, their consequences, how other people felt, and How Not To Be Such A Complete Fucking Douche. And all these musings spiraled into thoughts about the consequences of my actions on the world-at-large and the ways groups of people have interacted with other groups of people, especially when I started reading articles and books about global warming, mass extinctions, World War II, women's suffrage, the history of slavery and gay rights, so quite a few of my current political and philosophical convictions stemmed from that period of my life, too. I've refined my stances over the years, but my core convictions towards human rights and the like haven't changed.

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[info]thiscantbesoy
2007-01-24 09:05 pm UTC (link)
I'm significantly more antisocial, but my main personality isn't drastically different.

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-24 09:19 pm UTC (link)
Is it consciously antisocial or just a problem you're trying to fix?

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[info]thiscantbesoy
2007-01-24 09:25 pm UTC (link)
I don't see it being very fixable--it's kinda just who I am. I don't go out of my way to change how I feel, although I do make efforts at times to, like, go to parties and stuff. I'm severely opposed to the telephone (how I managed to give you a call that one night, I'll never know). I can't STAND meeting new people--it terrifies me. I think I pass as fairly sociable in situations (why I'm a veritable laugh-a-minute), but inside I'm feeling very awkward. I'd rather not hang out with anyone--staying home or doing things solely with my husband is all that I want. Making plans and then having those plans looming on my schedule makes me very anxious to the point of wanting to cancel coffee with a good friend. I've never been the type to want or to have a big social circle. I'm content with having one special person. And I really, really, just don't like people.

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[info]linzandbeans
2007-01-26 06:25 pm UTC (link)
I hope you don't mind me interjecting two days later (when no one is probably looking anymore) to say: Everything in your personality is at least improvable, if not fixable, if you work on it. The questions are: does being antisocial make you unhappy? And: Would you be happier if you didn't have to worry about this? The answer seems to be yes, because although you say in the end that you're content with your husband, you also are kind of stuck with having to deal with others sometimes, which sounds very stressful to you. Unless you are a hermit?

If you and your husband are both fine with you not wanting to socialize, then ignore my advice and have a happy, quiet life together. My ex's parents were like that.

If you and/or your husband can't deal with this, I highly recommend therapy. I <3 therapy.

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[info]thiscantbesoy
2007-02-02 09:47 pm UTC (link)
I suppose I wish I weren't antisocial, and that I wanted and felt comfortable having the company of girlfriends, and that I didn't dread making most phone calls with every ounce of my being, and that I wasn't afraid of making and keeping appointments, and that meeting new people didn't scare me in the least. Sure--I mean, that sounds like it would be easier and more pleasant all around.

Being antisocial doesn't exactly make me unhappy, since I'm content just being around my husband and family. I'm not unhappy when surrounded by the circumstances that my antisocialness brings, if that makes any sense--that is to say, not unhappy when I'm not around lots of other people. But I am unhappy when faced with the daunting task of meeting new people, or talking on the phone to certain people, or things like that. If I didn't have to do those things, I wouldn't be unhappy with my antisocial life.



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[info]shaxxon
2007-01-24 09:09 pm UTC (link)
For the most part I'm still the awesome and at the same time, this lame.

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-24 09:13 pm UTC (link)
When I was like 6, I was sitting in front of my house by the tree with my friend Lauren playing with ants. I convinced her that it would be a good idea to put ants in her pants.

She then ran to my mom crying and said "I HAVE ANTS IN MY PANTS"

And my mom had trouble understanding what the hell she was talking about, because how often does anyone mean that literally? Regardless, this was some pretty advanced comedy writing in my opinion.

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[info]shaxxon
2007-01-24 09:16 pm UTC (link)
Haha. That's a great story, I can't believe that girl actually did that though. You must be very convincing because God knows I wouldn't put anything in my pants that would bite me. That's still true. No biters.

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[info]shaxxon
2007-01-24 09:17 pm UTC (link)
Also I want to say I think it's funny that the person who's username is sexywitch--that made me laugh that they said "no" which means that they've always been a sexywitch. Always.

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[info]mandy_moon
2007-01-24 11:25 pm UTC (link)
When I was four, I used to put large black carpenter ants in my mouth. I noted that they tasted burny.

I think I've been the same since age four.

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[info]ilovegravy
2007-01-24 11:57 pm UTC (link)
oh mannnn, I TOTALLY wanted a Catwoman costume like that when the movie came out!! Alas, I could not locate one, so I think I just went as a genie or something instead. haha

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-24 09:14 pm UTC (link)
I also want to state that I suspect having kids will do a number on one's fundamental personality.

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[info]ruxxell
2007-01-24 09:28 pm UTC (link)
you know you were waiting for this:

IM THE SAME
AS I WAS WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OH_OH_OLD
AND OMIGOD I FEEL SO DAMN OLD
(i dont really feel anything)

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-24 09:32 pm UTC (link)
i am actually curious as to what people think as well, but yeah, if there was ever a song for me, that is the song.

I'm the same as I was when I was 6 years old
And oh my God I feel so damn old
I don't really feel anything
On a plane, I can see the tiny lights below
And oh my God, they look so alone
Do they really feel anything?
Oh my God, I've gotta gotta gotta gotta move on
Where do you move when what you're moving from
Is yourself?
The universe works on a math equation
that never even ever really even ends in the end
Infinity spirals out creation
We're on the tip of its tongue, and it is saying
We aint sure where you stand
You aint machines and you aint land
And the plants and the animals, they are linked
And the plants and the animals eat each other
Oh my God and oh my cat
I told my Dad what I need
Well I know what I have and want
But I don't know what I need
Well, he said he said he said he said
"Where we're going I'm dead."

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[info]ruxxell
2007-01-24 09:59 pm UTC (link)
i like how you conveniently left out that last undecipherable line.

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[info]shmivejournal
2007-01-25 12:30 am UTC (link)
spend my whole life
????
don't know what's right
but i know what ain't

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[info]sterlingspider
2007-01-24 10:10 pm UTC (link)
Based on what I've seen of my breedin' friends, not really.
It brings out some parts that maybe weren't quite so strong before, but they still seem to stay essentielly themselves.

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[info]sadotter
2007-01-24 09:45 pm UTC (link)
At age 8, I didn't have much of a sense of self, let alone a sense of self-in-the-world. Or at least, it was a pretty unrefined sense of self. And while I probably understood cause/effect on a simple level, I didn't understand it as it related to social situations, nor could I project it farther into the future than, say, 2 hours. As such, I hadn't developed anything resembling a moral compass.

Also, I didn't have a sense of longevity of my life. Taking that with the fact that I had a very short set of life memories, I hadn't yet begun to consider my satisfaction with my own life & choices.

I could say plenty more on this, but I'm not sure you want to read all that.

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[info]fyremaven
2007-01-24 10:25 pm UTC (link)
speaking from experience, if anything, having kids KEEPS you at your 8 year old level.

how else can you play all those kewl games and get away with it. sort of sad, though, when your kids outgrow the silly games...

:D

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[info]sarah_arrrr
2007-01-24 10:31 pm UTC (link)
For the most part, no. I know you excluded confidence in one's abilities, which has definitely improved for me since I was 8 years old. Overall though, I'm still sort of the same, just adapted for adulthood. Some might debate that point, though :p One thing I lament, though, is that I'm less imaginative now than I was as a kid.

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[info]mrsmalkav
2007-01-24 10:37 pm UTC (link)
from 12, or 16, or 19, yes, very.

from 4-8? no. in fact, i strive to be more like my 4-8 y/o self.

my mother says that the bellydance thing is me reverting to being a little girl again.

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[info]bifteck
2007-01-24 10:49 pm UTC (link)
Ohhh yeah. I really like and relate to this!

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Hi, I just added you even though I don't really keep an ~*LJ*~ anymore
[info]withcats
2007-01-24 11:03 pm UTC (link)
This is all really interesting. I once heard someone theorize that people's personalities stop maturing around junior high age.

I answered yes. Though now that I think about it, I guess I still have a lot of the same general personality traits. For example, I'm much less excitable now (no mo' diva moments, laying in the street and having temper tantrums), but I'm not sure if that really means I experience anger less frequently. Maybe it is all about adjusting without really changing, like [info]sarah_arrrr said.

Then again, I dunno. I wore an awful lot of pink when I was 8.

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[info]jenever
2007-01-25 12:05 am UTC (link)
but then the other question is whether or not we answer "yes" or "no" and if our answer is really true. one's own perception of one's self can greatly affect the answer to this type of question, and also, what one considers the fundamental aspects of personality to be.

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[info]je5s
2007-01-25 12:43 am UTC (link)
Significantly different, yes. Significantly similar, also yes.

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[info]herbaliser
2007-01-25 01:37 am UTC (link)
yeah.

besides I look exactly the same as I did.

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[info]nakednatalie
2007-01-25 05:06 am UTC (link)
I'm far less angry than I was at 8, but otherwise, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm essentially the same.

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[info]mr_z
2007-01-25 05:22 am UTC (link)
I think my personality is pretty much the same. The context is completely different, though, so how that plays out is also completely different.

I'm still a shit, though, playing w/ peoples' minds when I can (and when it's acceptable to do so--I'm not a total ass), and I'm still inquisitive as all get out.

I think what's gotten me as far as I've gotten are certain base impulses. Such as, when someone tells me that something broke and they got it fixed, I don't merely sympathize, I actually ask what was broken and how it was fixed. I'm an engineer. I need to know these things, GODDAMMIT!

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[info]heatherella
2007-01-25 02:10 pm UTC (link)
I answered "no", but it’s not an absolute no. I think I've retained the elements of my personality that were in place at that age. But they were so raw and underdeveloped and unshaped that I think yeah, my personality as a whole has changed since then.

Were you endlessly fascinated with people's circuitry when you were 8?

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[info]vocodedreality
2007-01-26 06:18 pm UTC (link)
I'm surprised at how many people answered yes, I figured it would be a no brainer.

Anyway, I'm very different from when I was 8 years old. Here is a small list.

8 years old
I was afraid of EVERYTHING all the time, especially my father.
I worried about EVERYTHING all the time, especially my father.
I hung around stereo typical adults and wanted to be like them.
I was hopeful for the future and remember thinking I could accomplish anything if I put my mind to it.
I never, ever did my homework.
I put faith in my family and looked up to them for guidance.


24 years old (now)
I am afraid of nothing except loosing my mental capacity and death.
I still worry about everything but it's not all the time, just most of the time.
I am an adult but I don't hang around with the stereotypical adult and don't want to be that way.
I realize that I cannot accomplish anything I want either because it's impractical or because of the choices I've previously made.
I always do my homework.
I have no faith in my family beyond the faith I have for normal people. I don't look up to them for guidance, I don't look up to anybody for guidance.


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