MBTI

This was not set up, I promise.

The bad: “INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions. This is something of a conflict between the inner and outer worlds, and may result in the INFJ not being as organized as other Judging types tend to be. Or we may see some signs of disarray in an otherwise orderly tendency, such as a consistently messy desk.”

The above photo is one I just took of my desk in my dorm. I'm hardly ever in my dorm. You can easily imagine then, how much crazier my studio desk is. Although it looks like my possessions sort of exploded over my desk, there's still some kind of order to this chaos. And that's pretty much how I work. I tend to go through cleaning sprees periodically, in which everything will finally get organized and put away, but that order consistently disintegrates into a mess. I started out this year consistently keeping up with my planner and calendar, but at this point, I'm not sure where that even is. I DO keep a journal and pen with me at all times so I can write down anything I need to remember, but I've definitely noticed that I'm relying on my intuition more. Which is honestly a bit of a problem at times - I have too much in my head to remember everything. Unfortunately, I've consistently forgotten to change this habit, sooo, that is definitely something I need to work on. Especially because Professor Bump's class is FULL of things that need to be remembered. THere are lots of details and due dates and activity reminders - I don't think I can keep track of it all. As an INFJ, I go through periods where I concentrate completely on the Big Idea and disregard the details that are needed to support it, or I focus so intensely on the details that I lose sight of the big picture. I can see why this juxtaposition results in the physical manifestation of a messy flaw in my order. I guess ordered chaos is really the best way to describe how I work. I don't have schedules, but I do have general ideas. I don't follow things to the letter - in fact, I kind of hate doing that. But I stick close to my assignment/topic/whatever, then go off on a random tangent and make something my own - but I DID branch off from the assignment. It would be helpful, in the setting with an ISFJ instructor, if I was given the main idea of our assignments and discussions, and the importance of what we were doing and why were explained to me, then the breakdown of the specific rules that HAVE to be followed were listed in an organized manner, in the most concise way. I tend to get overwhelmed when I read through our website. It would be much easier if we were to be given the bare bones of the requirments, then given the freedom to go wild with it. This is the iNtuitive part of me speaking. I also agree with Bat - I would definitely like more feedback on my style of writing and the message I am trying to get across, more than the copyediting. I like the copyediting, but I want more of the Big Idea.

My Inspiration Wall above my desk.

Take the extra time to enhance your work with pictures and videos because it will make the experience far more meaningful.

In terms of how our assignments work, I definitely would appreciate more of the visual. I appreciate and enjoy the class discussions when we are asked to draw something. Although I like writing ( I AM a Plan II student, and already this blog post may be getting a lot longer than it needs to be), I need a mix of the visual and written word. All of my artwork incorporates my writing, and in my writing, I try to vividly depict the pictures and scenes I am visualizing in my mind's eye. I like that we are encouraged to incorporate visual media into our work. In fact, I really just appreciate the idea of experiential learning, because then we are not simply reading about different experiences, but experiencing situations with all 5 senses. I learn best with visual stimuli for inspiration, or writing that evokes an emotion or vision. The above photo is the Inspiration Wall I have above my desk. I have another blog which I use solely to keep track of the visual media (photos, artwork and so on) that I find inspiring. I use this whenever I'm stuck on any creative thing - it's my treasure trove of inspiration. It would be helpful to do more activities that incorporate art and video with writing, such as when we went to the Blanton for the Scavenger Hunt (probably one of my favorite assignments).

In terms of the social aspect of this class and my learning style, INFJ's " are also very expressive, but only to certain people they trust. Those who they trust are carefully chosen, and will ultimately know almost everything about the INFJ."  I can get along with almost everybody and am a fairly social person, but I definitely do better in smaller groups. I find it extremely difficult to trust someone enough to talk about myself with them, so this class has been an enormous challenge. We were basically forced out of our shells and armor, and that's something I really appreciate. It doesn't mean that I will be able to get close to more people, or that it is easier to do so. It just means that now I know I can. Even though it was hard to be told to talk about yourself on the internet, to your peers, to your professor, it was also a really great experience and lesson Professor Bump has provided. I also think the combination of free class discussion where everyone is invited to jump in, with structured discussion such as Feedback Time, is a good idea. I know I hesitate much more during the free class discussion, as my introverted side finds it more valuable to mull over the thoughts in my head by myself. However, I don't think that's right, because there is so much value in learning from others, and its going to be something I'll have to work on to learn to trust people around me enough to have more meaningful discussions.