Turning into a Social Sloth after becoming a Teacher

You can listen to the podcast version of this blog post here.

Recently I traveled into the depths of personality tests. It all started when I came across a Jubilee Youtube video about a small group of strangers ranking themselves on an introvert to extrovert spectrum, “Ranking Strangers From Introverted to Extroverted | Assumptions vs Myers Briggs Test.” It turned out that one of the people who was voted as more “extroverted” got an “introverted” personality type after taking an MBTI personality test after the ranking activity. Everyone’s minds were blown.

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I was not too surprised. It is not all that surprising that “introverts” can act pretty social, especially in a small group setting, but people tend to stereotype introverts as the “quiet ones” who do not talk much or have much of a “social life.” Someone in the comment section mentioned an interesting website where you can take a 96 question personality test that addresses the gaps of how one might perceive their personality type to be verses to who they may actually be: sakinorva.net.

After watching this video, I decided to procrastinate on writing this current blog post and explore this website. Sakinorva does use the letters from original Meyer Briggs Personality Type indicator, but the site here created original questions and an algorithm to calculate results differently.

After answering all 96 questions, I was shocked when I saw this table as one of the presented data:

(grant) function type	ISFJ
myers function type	ISFJ
myers letter type	ESFJ

Table data provided by https://sakinorva.net/

When I clicked to see a more detailed analysis, I was quite intrigued by the interpreted possibilities of how accurate these 4 letter combinations are:

E	Better odds than not.
S	Kind of uncertain.
F	Pretty certain.
J	Pretty certain.

Table data provided by https://sakinorva.net/

Once I looked over the provided data, I realized that I may have become too attached to my “ISFJ” personality type label. Yes, having a personality type is not the end all be all, but having an assigned personality type gives me a sense of certainty in understanding myself better. People are complex creatures.

Furthermore, the data here further confirmed my suspicions of why I can be pretty extroverted when the situation calls for it, cough, like being a teacher. In terms of the letter “S” (sensing), I always felt I was in the middle—having a practical mindset in handling day to day operations with laser focus on details in life, while trying to break free into a world of imagination as a writer.

Now, I think back to my past, to my high school years where I constantly yearned to spend time with my friends but couldn’t because of my strict upbringing, to my college years, my most extroverted and spontaneous years, where I let it all out and befriended many, many friends (of course, not all at the same time). Hanging out with my friends energized me and made me so happy. I even signed up for an undergraduate course where I got to talk to random international students to help them with their English.

But, ever since I became a teacher, that energy is no longer there. You could say I put most, if not all, my energy into my teaching career, especially during my first year. Prior to my full time teaching job, I used to be a night owl and stayed up for hours. Now, the latest I can even stay up to is 12:30AM, but that’s pushing it. Being forced to wake up around 5 to 5:30AM every day during the school year for the past 5 years extinguished my night owl status.

Perhaps it is also because I have become older, my body cannot handle too much socializing. I still do enjoy socializing whenever I manage to get myself out there. Sadly, I have become very hesitant or maybe a bit lazy to reach out, to make plans in the first place, since most of the time, I am the one who initiates out first. Though I’m happy to say, particularly this summer, I had some friends who reached out to me first. And when I come back from socializing, and after the adrenaline wears off, I become relieved to be back home in my cozy bed.

As I write all this, I laugh at myself. This is a clear indication of being an introvert. Excessive social interactions need excessive recharging periods. That is the core of being an introvert. Teaching and connecting with my students equal the same energy I used all those years of socializing in college. Unfortunately, I have been impaired with anxiety since becoming a full time public school teacher. I was always an anxious and a bit of an awkward person, but it got heightened when I experienced my first and only panic attack after the first two weeks of teaching as a first year teacher five years ago. Recently, anxiety follows me even more closely, especially when planning to meet up with friends or acquaintances that I do not see on a regular basis.

So, I can’t but help call myself a social sloth now.

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