i'm an idealist

well, i just took the kiersey personality test thing that suzanne suggested. some of the questions were tough because i needed to really think about what the question was trying to ask and then try to figure out how i should answer. this is always my problem with personality tests, i tend to overanalyze them to the point where i'm not exactly sure if i'm answering honestly. so, as i'm finishing up the test, wondering if it will yield any type of realistic assessment of my personality, i think that maybe i have answered the questions well.
when my scores were calculated i came up as "an idealist." i guess i answered the questions truthfully because the thing sums me up pretty well i think. and if it doesn't sum me up well, it at least sums up what i hope to accomplish, but basically it nailed me down pretty well. saying how i'm struggling with self identity and personal growth so that i can become my best possible self. sometimes it doesn't really seem like i'm motivated by that particular goal, but somewhere inside, i'm still trying to figure it out. anyway, here's a couple paragraphs about me that someone else wrote based on a bunch of obscure questions. when things like this can be this seemingly accurate, i'm really impressed with the field of psychology, and it kinda makes me wish that this sort of stuff still existed. i guess that's why i want to be a philosopher, so i can just try to figure this stuff out without the pressure to perform all those tests for empirical evidence and stuff. anyway...hineni, the idealist.

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Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up between 20 and 25 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

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not quite as rare as 2 percent, but i'm still special, as i'm sure any of you would attest to.