I was looking through old photos this weekend searching for pictures to put in the senior slide show. Most the pictures I found were of me and my two siblings. I laughed at how much these old photos represent our personalities now. In most of the pictures my older sister, Alix, is camera ready, with a big smile on her face. Jacob, my older brother, on the other hand, is usually making some goofy face that makes me laugh even now. Then, there is me, I am usually staring straight into the camera; sometimes smiling and sometimes just looking. I find these photos to be very representative of my siblings and me. Alix is usually the put together one, or at least the one with the plan. Jacob is the fun spirited one, ready to make everyone laugh. Me, I am the one that tries to logic everything out.
As I have grown up, I recognize that my siblings are on opposite spectrums of the personality wheel. Alix takes time to look presentable; Jacob will wear the same shirt (complete with ten holes) until someone throws it out. When in a crowd of company, Alix will sit and talk to the adults; Jacob will be running around with the children. Alix is one I go to talk about deep things; but Jacob is the one I go to when I need someone to lift my spirit and make me laugh. I am generally in the middle of the spectrum I try to look decent (but with as little effort as possible). I will talk with the adults and play with the children.
I was thinking about it, and I doubt, if I meet two people with my siblings’ personalities, I would be their friend or even acquaintance. Yet, I would not change my siblings, and our personalities seem to just work. I mean, we have had our rough patches, but overall we get along amazingly well. I guess differences in personalities are easy to get over when you love someone. I can’t ever remember wishing that Jacob and Alix had different personalities; because that would mean having different siblings. That is something I will never wish for. I love Alix and Jacob and I always will, no matter how much our personalities may clash.
As I was thinking about how my siblings and I get along even though sometimes we are nothing alike, I realized how foolish I am with other people around me. There is this kid in one of my classes (he is not in AP English) that just irks me. He is very loud and obnoxious; he talks instead of doing his work and is overall annoying. His and my personalities are in no way similar. Because of that, I could not see any way for us to get along. I realize now, that personalities are not a valid reason to not get along. I have done it all my life with my siblings, who I have spent countless hours with. I only spend five hours a week with this person. Surely, I can find a way to overlook our opposite personalities. That’s my goal this week. Not to see the differences in our personalities as a reason not to like him, but rather, as something that enriches our class, and my life. After all, having different personalities around me has made my life more beautiful.
Eryn, this is very intriguing. It is kind of interesting to see how best friends are paired up. I think that almost every person, at some point in time, has had or has that one friend who matches your personality perfectly. We find that one friend where when faced with a situation would react exactly the same we would. I also think most siblings are like yours too. However, I think that is what makes life fun and interesting. When you are with your siblings, you can go and a bunch of stupid stuff together and not care what each other thinks. Then when you are with your best friend your stupid ideas won’t seem so stupid because you are with your best friend and both of you were thinking about doing it. I also believe that everyone will have that one person that is nothing like us and just being around them will irritate us. However, we have the choice to choose whether to dwell on it or move past them.
ReplyDeleteIt really is strange to look back at pictures of ourselves. When we’re younger, we act exactly how we want to. We can see this through the pictures. Similar to yourself, I also have two other siblings, and we are nothing alike. Myself, I was generally quiet and was a no hassle child. On the other hand, both of my brothers are monsters. My brother Cruz has a heart of gold; however, he is very emotional and will generally say anything when he is angry. I can already tell that he is going to be a huge mama’s boy. My youngest brother, Alessandro, is going to be a handful. He already talks back and thinks he runs the house. He already wears flat-billed hats, like he’s a gangster. I have actually seen him sleep in his hat! Though they are too young now, as they get older, I’m sure they’ll become some of my best friends.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a well thought out blog on personalities. I personally love to go through and dissect them. I love how you related your relationship with your siblings to strangers with their personalities. I feel the same way that if my brother wasn’t my brother, we might not have ever become friends. (Not gonna say which brother though :) I hope to take on that challenge of yours as well. If we all could look past the obvious differences that set us apart from one another, we all could become a lot closer. I know that families are extremely important and that they need to be cared for and loved to be successful. If we treat each other like brother and sister, we, in a way, would have ourselves one big happy family.
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