COGNITIVE

Analytical or Intuitive Thinker?

I would consider myself more of an analytical thinker than an intuitive thinker. I tend to overthink a lot so it’s easy for me to believe that my answer is wrong, even though it might be correct. When I have a problem, I try to find as much information as possible before I come to a conclusion. For example, in relationship, sometimes my trust isn’t fully there but I have to look at the facts and evidence before reacting. My gut-feeling is usually stemmed from something that I am afraid might happen, rather than what’s actually in front of me. As for other situations, such as interpreting a topic in class, breaking down the problem, doing research and analyzing every little detail helps me come up with an accurate opinion on it. I would rather dedicate more time in getting an accurate answer than responding with my emotions.

Which of Gardner’s Intelligence(s) do I have?

Gardner’s Intelligences was a theory create by Howard Gardner who believed that all people have their own unique kinds of “intelligences”. The 8 possibilities are visual-spatial, linguistic-verbal, intra-personal, inter-personal, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic. I thrive in intra-personal. Since I’m always by myself, I take the time to understand how I feel and my expectations for myself. I’ve always been good at understand myself and my thoughts but it was always so difficult expressing them, which makes me weak in the linguistic category. I also think I thrive in the inter-personal category because I am an observer. I don’t know why or how, but I always feel like I am also experiencing someone’s situation when they tell me theirs. I am extremely empathetic and can almost sense other’s true emotions even when they say the complete opposite. A category that I am in between on is logical-mathematical. I am very good at doing research and collecting data to create an evidence based opinion, but I always second guess and contradict myself. Working on being confident in my answers would help strengthen this type of intelligence.

Reference: https://educationaltechnology.net/theory-of-multiple-intelligences-gardner/

PSYCHOSOCIAL

 Authoritarian

Growing up with authoritarian parents made it very difficult for me as child because I always felt like I wasn’t able to do lots of things other kids my age did. I wasn’t allowed to go out with friends or hang out with boys, go to sleepover, or was introduced to sports or hobbies that would spark my interest. I was really only taught to do well in school. My mom was a perfectionist so she always wanted us to be well behaved and presentable, so that’s what I did. I spent most of my time as a kid watching tv quietly for hours. The only time I got to see my friends were during school, and everything else we did as a family. As I got older, I would get invited to do things with friends but I was always scared the ask because I knew I’d get scolded for asking and a big fat “no”. I started rebelling against my parents. I started doing the things I wanted to despite what they said and they eventually stopped. I remember feeling so guilty acting like that but convincing myself that I had to because it was the only way they’d let me “grow up”. Now that I’m older, I can see their parenting style slowly shifting to permissive. My younger sister, 15, has definitely gotten away with lots of things that I didn’t when I was her age which is odd to see.

Reference: https://www.verywellfamily.com/types-of-parenting-styles-1095045

Life as an Introvert 

 

Being isolated from such a young age has definitely had an effect on me falling more towards being an introvert on the extrovert and introvert continuum no matter how hard I tried to convince myself I wasn’t. During my teen years, I was always very friendly and social because that’s who I wanted to be. In high school I joined yearbook club, ASB, always went to football games with friends. When I got to college all my friends were joining sororities, clubs, and partying. I tried all these things and although it was fun, I got over it extremely fast. I would always ask myself if there was something wrong with me because everyone was having a great time and I just didn’t seem to enjoy it that much. I realized that it just wasn't for me and that I felt more comfortable when I wasn’t around so many people. I didn’t enjoy the small talk because I felt like it’s a waste of time. I appreciate having meaningful conversations and connections. For the most part, I love how peaceful it is when it’s quiet so I can hear myself think and reflect. I used to feel down about being an introvert, thinking I was missing out on something, but I figured out I’m my happiest this way.

BIOSOCIAL

Genetics and Diet vs. Acne 

My overall health due to eating habits and genetics had a big impact on my confidence. I have always struggled with acne. I went through puberty around 9 years old, so a little bit younger than the average. I was the only kid in the class that even had a pimple and no matter what I did, it never seemed to go away. I went to seek help from my pediatrician at the age of 12 and was prescribed antibiotics which helped, but eventually had to stop because it wasn’t meant to be taken longer than 3 months. As you can guess, my acne came back once more but 10 times worse. My dad has no acne, however, my mom does so it was inventible for me to get it. Genetics had a big influence on me having acne because my mom would have inflammation in the same spots I would get them. I was so insecure and wore makeup everyday to try to cover it up as much as possible. I tried every face wash, make, spot treatment, and serum google and YouTubers recommended but nothing worked. I eventually did some research and found something that said dairy products were correlated to acne due all the hormones and additives in them. I cut dairy and junk food out of my diet (not completely) and saw a significant change. My face was clearing up and the painful cysts were slowly shrinking. Now that I am 21, I eat dairy and junk food occasionally, drink lots of water, and do a skincare routine that caters to my skin. 

Nature, Nurture, Both.

One trait that I have would be shyness. I’m friendly but I tend to feel anxious when talking to or hanging out with people, despite how long I’ve known them. I can see this as being caused by genetics because sometimes my dad gets flustered and tongue tied in social settings. As for my mom isn’t so much ‘shy’ but she’s not really extroverted either. For example, she’d probably try to avoid someone she knew if she saw them at the grocery store. My younger sister also gets extremely nervous to ask for things or order food. I can also see this as being nurture I learned English and Lao but my dad never taught me Vietnamese. So I always loathed family events from his side. The lack of communication always resulted in staring at each other with a confused look and smile. I’ve also read about how people making a big deal about you being able to speak your language can make you too shy to speak it? As a kid, I would say things in Lao and my family would act super surprised, praise me, or say I said things strangely or 'americanized' which made me feel embarrassed so I spoke it less.