aleks2200
New member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2022
- Messages
- 12
Personal concepts
1. What is beauty? What is love?
Beauty and love are obviously abstract and relatively subjective ideas. The way I interpret beauty is something aesthetically pleasing, that you feel drawn to look at, for no evident reason. I think love drives relationships and connections. It's the inexplicable reason for why we keep people around when we feel frustrated with them. When you love someone, they become an integral part of your life without whom you couldn't imagine living.
2. What are your most important values?
I value safety, freedom, relationships, comfort and success.
3. Do you have any sort of spiritual/religious beliefs, and why do you hold (or don't) those beliefs in the first place?
I label myself agnostic, so I accept that there's very much we don't actually know. I think that the universe is much vaster than we could ever imagine, and I couldn't believe in one thing. It's an amalgamation of multiple spiritual views, where we might be alone, we might've created everything. I don't know really, and I find a comfort in not knowing things, because I'd need clearcut reasoning to truly believe in one theory. I'm open to new perspectives but try and evade them in conversation, because I know they're divisive points in relationships and social events.
4. Opinion on war and militaries? What is power to you?
War is a terrible move in a political game. States fight each other and use soldiers as pawns, and affect civilians as well. It's dreadful really. It's interesting to study the causes years later, but the outcomes are always horrific. What could be diplomatically solved is played out horrifically, that's all I'll say.
Power is the ability to influence, not just because they're synonymous, but it's the ability to make decisions that matter. People listen to you, because your word means more than that of the average person.
Interests
5. What have you had long conversations about? What are your interests? Why?
I've had long conversations about people, politics and history (the conversations about politics and history are often intertwined). When I meet people I've known for years, we spend hours going over our shared memories and experiences. I try and gloss over the embarrassing and hurtful things I did, which, for all intents and purposes, make me look decidedly bad, although I'll grant the others in the conversation the same leeway if it comes up.
I'm interested in politics as a study of its mechanisms and rules, although I don't like how prevalent the subject of how politics should be, can get, and resolutely distance myself from it at times, especially in debates, when I don't believe we'll come to a shared conclusion. My primary interests that I love to study and talk more about, though, are history, political science (as a study, not in practice) and psychology.
6. Interested in health/medicine as a conversation topic? Are you focused on your body?
I don't find it immensely interesting. I think some aspects, like the future of medicine, can intrigue me, but as a whole, I've never been one for medicine and biology.
I'm very focused on my health, though, and love conversations about that. People who know me often steer me away because I can get obsessive on it.
7. What do you think of daily chores?
I don't think much of them. I enjoy laundry and don't mind other chores like cooking and dishes. I like getting them over with as quickly as I can, because I don't like the feeling of needing to do something eventually.
8. Books or films you liked? Recently read/watched or otherwise. Examples welcome.
I really like the MCU films, especially the ones made in 2015-'19. And I'm currently into Tolstoy, and absolutely loved Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Historical fiction is my favourite, because I consider it another way to learn history—by reading accounts of people who actually lived then. They write stories of fictional characters but draw from their real lives and experiences to construct them. That's why War and Peace was so good, because it also included actual information about the 1812 war.
9. What has made you cry? What has made you smile? Why?
The thought of losing people or being an utmost failure makes me cry very heartily. Insults make me tear up but I often suppress it and hide away.
I smile very easily, at the thought of something amusing or endearing. I smile at people I know when I see them, to seem more pleasant when initiating conversations and making requests, and of course, whenever I'm being polite. I'll smile at strangers if I'm about to talk to them or if they smile at me first, but I feel shy initiating the exchange.
10. Where do you feel: at one with the environment/a sense of belonging?
I feel one with the environment when I'm by the ocean. I feel like it makes me appreciate the earth's beauty, truly and entirely. It grounds me in a way only conversations and books can. I feel a sense of belonging with the people I love, when I'm thoroughly engaged in conversation.
Evaluation & Behaviour
11. What have people seen as your weaknesses? What do you dislike about yourself?
My weaknesses (according to others) are my sensitivity to criticism, apprehension to try new things/step out of my comfort zone, excessive vanity, stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise when it comes to something that solely concerns me. For instance, as I said before, I can be very unyielding when it comes to health, and specifically diet and exercise, so people often point that out as a weakness—a stubbornness to listen to others. Ironically, I dislike that I'm not enough of a perfectionist. I wish I were more successful, I wish I tried harder at it when I was younger. I often resent that I eased off my strict routine and rules, but I also understand that I sometimes needed to.
12. What have people seen as your strengths? What do you like about yourself?
My strengths (according to others) are my joyful readiness to help other people, optimism, determination and ambition to improve in all aspects of my life. I rarely give up and try my best not to let others. I like that I'm relatively disciplined and don't back down easily. I try and understand people I don't relate to, and inherently see the best in everything even when it's difficult. I also like that I'm unfailingly polite and can keep up a good conversation very easily.
13. In what areas of your life would you like help?
I want to feel less anxious and would love help with that. I have a hard time admitting I need help, and even though I often resent what I consider my weaknesses and past failures, I wish I could freely admit them to someone too; someone who'd tell me I'm okay as I am, and I've got nothing to change or improve on. Just a flippant, little fantasy is all.
14. Ever feel stuck in a rut? If yes, describe the causes and your reaction to it.
I feel stuck in a rut when I'm anxious and unmotivated. When I'm anxious, the inclination to procrastinate is massive, because the possibility of failure feels much more possible and it feels scarier, so it feels better not to try at all. I'm okay cruising by, even if it means I don't do anything meaningful. And I also feel stuck in a rut then. When I'm not doing anything productive or significant, and literally just trying to feel okay, I feel worthless and like it's hard to get out.
I don't stay in ruts long and an impetus like a due date or the promise of a significant accomplishment sometimes gets me out of it. There was a time when I procrastinated all the time and needlessly, and I'd finally finished my work and was ready to get started on the next semester/week's worth of work. Then I learnt I was going on holiday at the end of the week and finished all my work immediately. The incentive of a prize, whether it be one I get to enjoy or an actual symbol of my accomplishments, unfailingly gets me out of ruts.
People & Interactions
15. What qualities do you most like and dislike in other people? What types do you get along with?
I most like loyalty, someone who's always there for you and who'll find sensitive ways to help you, who'll get you off your feet but also understand when you need time to recharge. I appreciate maturity and ambition too. Similarly, I dislike people who are very selfish and always find a way to turn the conversation back on them, who have very rigid viewpoints, who believe they're right without any evidence. It frustrates me when I'm in a debate and someone doesn't actually provide evidence but infers several things and believes that's enough to try and get me to change my mind.
16. How do you feel about romance/sex? What qualities do you want in a partner?
I personally believe romance is an important part of my life, or will be. I put work and other aspects (friends and family) of my social life above it for now, but I definitely think it's important, for me. Again, I would want someone who's loyal, open to expressing their own emotions, can take care of and be taken care of. I would want someone who likes to work and achieve things, just as I do, but not someone as vain and success-centered as me. Perhaps someone who understands the deeper things in life, and the abstract concepts I don't always comprehend.
17. If you were to raise a child, what would be your main concerns, what measures would you take, and why?
My main concerns would be the way the world treats them and how that might affect their mental health and view of the world. I would hopefully be equipped enough to equip them with the life and social skills needed to keep safe. I wouldn't helicopter them, but I'd want them to firstly be able to protect themselves and secondly, be able to turn to their secure headquarters (i.e. their parents) if they ever felt insecure, tired, worn out or helpless. I'd want them to know they matter and their opinion matters but to prevent them from having too high expectations of themself, that could give way to immense disappointment and stress later.
18. A friend makes a claim that clashes with your current beliefs. What is your inward and outward reaction?
My inward reaction is 'How dare they? They're absolutely wrong, why can't they see that?' My outward reaction is to calmly express my opinion and if they turn the disagreement into something ugly, I'll politely agree to disagree. If it's something compromises my values absolutely, then I might have to end the friendship or distance myself so much that we turn into acquaintances.
19. Describe your relationship to society. How do you see people as a whole? What do you consider a prevalent social problem? Name one.
Society is what it is. I appreciate it for its merits, like its ability to change politics with the court of public opinion, establish and spell out new moral codes as the world and people progress and unite people. Sometimes I believe it stifles and alienates people, sometimes for good reason and other times needlessly and unfairly. However, as a whole, I don't have a very divisive relationship with it.
People as a whole are complex. I don't have a single adjective to describe them except complex, because we can all value similar things yet seek to achieve them in vastly different and divisive ways. It's difficult because there's no rulebook to accomplishing change, because compromise is sometimes necessary while rigidity and refusing to move is another important tactic that's brought us tremendous change. I think, as people, we find some things challenging to deal with, because we get conflicting advise from history and then different circumstances and a new context to work within. The most prevalent social problem, summed up, is inequality. That everyone's voice isn't heard and thus everyone isn't fairly accounted for, when making rules and laws.
20. How do you choose your friends and how do you behave around them?
I choose my friends by judging how we bond over common interests and then our ability to converse and connect beyond them. I keep composed around them, although I show them my frivolous side sometimes. I'm humorous and playful too, but I can't open up too much.
21. How do you behave around strangers?
I'm very reserved around strangers. I'm polite in interactions, like if I were to pass them by I'd say excuse me, of course, and thank them for holding the door, but I don't really interact much with people I don't know.
1. What is beauty? What is love?
Beauty and love are obviously abstract and relatively subjective ideas. The way I interpret beauty is something aesthetically pleasing, that you feel drawn to look at, for no evident reason. I think love drives relationships and connections. It's the inexplicable reason for why we keep people around when we feel frustrated with them. When you love someone, they become an integral part of your life without whom you couldn't imagine living.
2. What are your most important values?
I value safety, freedom, relationships, comfort and success.
3. Do you have any sort of spiritual/religious beliefs, and why do you hold (or don't) those beliefs in the first place?
I label myself agnostic, so I accept that there's very much we don't actually know. I think that the universe is much vaster than we could ever imagine, and I couldn't believe in one thing. It's an amalgamation of multiple spiritual views, where we might be alone, we might've created everything. I don't know really, and I find a comfort in not knowing things, because I'd need clearcut reasoning to truly believe in one theory. I'm open to new perspectives but try and evade them in conversation, because I know they're divisive points in relationships and social events.
4. Opinion on war and militaries? What is power to you?
War is a terrible move in a political game. States fight each other and use soldiers as pawns, and affect civilians as well. It's dreadful really. It's interesting to study the causes years later, but the outcomes are always horrific. What could be diplomatically solved is played out horrifically, that's all I'll say.
Power is the ability to influence, not just because they're synonymous, but it's the ability to make decisions that matter. People listen to you, because your word means more than that of the average person.
Interests
5. What have you had long conversations about? What are your interests? Why?
I've had long conversations about people, politics and history (the conversations about politics and history are often intertwined). When I meet people I've known for years, we spend hours going over our shared memories and experiences. I try and gloss over the embarrassing and hurtful things I did, which, for all intents and purposes, make me look decidedly bad, although I'll grant the others in the conversation the same leeway if it comes up.
I'm interested in politics as a study of its mechanisms and rules, although I don't like how prevalent the subject of how politics should be, can get, and resolutely distance myself from it at times, especially in debates, when I don't believe we'll come to a shared conclusion. My primary interests that I love to study and talk more about, though, are history, political science (as a study, not in practice) and psychology.
6. Interested in health/medicine as a conversation topic? Are you focused on your body?
I don't find it immensely interesting. I think some aspects, like the future of medicine, can intrigue me, but as a whole, I've never been one for medicine and biology.
I'm very focused on my health, though, and love conversations about that. People who know me often steer me away because I can get obsessive on it.
7. What do you think of daily chores?
I don't think much of them. I enjoy laundry and don't mind other chores like cooking and dishes. I like getting them over with as quickly as I can, because I don't like the feeling of needing to do something eventually.
8. Books or films you liked? Recently read/watched or otherwise. Examples welcome.
I really like the MCU films, especially the ones made in 2015-'19. And I'm currently into Tolstoy, and absolutely loved Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Historical fiction is my favourite, because I consider it another way to learn history—by reading accounts of people who actually lived then. They write stories of fictional characters but draw from their real lives and experiences to construct them. That's why War and Peace was so good, because it also included actual information about the 1812 war.
9. What has made you cry? What has made you smile? Why?
The thought of losing people or being an utmost failure makes me cry very heartily. Insults make me tear up but I often suppress it and hide away.
I smile very easily, at the thought of something amusing or endearing. I smile at people I know when I see them, to seem more pleasant when initiating conversations and making requests, and of course, whenever I'm being polite. I'll smile at strangers if I'm about to talk to them or if they smile at me first, but I feel shy initiating the exchange.
10. Where do you feel: at one with the environment/a sense of belonging?
I feel one with the environment when I'm by the ocean. I feel like it makes me appreciate the earth's beauty, truly and entirely. It grounds me in a way only conversations and books can. I feel a sense of belonging with the people I love, when I'm thoroughly engaged in conversation.
Evaluation & Behaviour
11. What have people seen as your weaknesses? What do you dislike about yourself?
My weaknesses (according to others) are my sensitivity to criticism, apprehension to try new things/step out of my comfort zone, excessive vanity, stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise when it comes to something that solely concerns me. For instance, as I said before, I can be very unyielding when it comes to health, and specifically diet and exercise, so people often point that out as a weakness—a stubbornness to listen to others. Ironically, I dislike that I'm not enough of a perfectionist. I wish I were more successful, I wish I tried harder at it when I was younger. I often resent that I eased off my strict routine and rules, but I also understand that I sometimes needed to.
12. What have people seen as your strengths? What do you like about yourself?
My strengths (according to others) are my joyful readiness to help other people, optimism, determination and ambition to improve in all aspects of my life. I rarely give up and try my best not to let others. I like that I'm relatively disciplined and don't back down easily. I try and understand people I don't relate to, and inherently see the best in everything even when it's difficult. I also like that I'm unfailingly polite and can keep up a good conversation very easily.
13. In what areas of your life would you like help?
I want to feel less anxious and would love help with that. I have a hard time admitting I need help, and even though I often resent what I consider my weaknesses and past failures, I wish I could freely admit them to someone too; someone who'd tell me I'm okay as I am, and I've got nothing to change or improve on. Just a flippant, little fantasy is all.
14. Ever feel stuck in a rut? If yes, describe the causes and your reaction to it.
I feel stuck in a rut when I'm anxious and unmotivated. When I'm anxious, the inclination to procrastinate is massive, because the possibility of failure feels much more possible and it feels scarier, so it feels better not to try at all. I'm okay cruising by, even if it means I don't do anything meaningful. And I also feel stuck in a rut then. When I'm not doing anything productive or significant, and literally just trying to feel okay, I feel worthless and like it's hard to get out.
I don't stay in ruts long and an impetus like a due date or the promise of a significant accomplishment sometimes gets me out of it. There was a time when I procrastinated all the time and needlessly, and I'd finally finished my work and was ready to get started on the next semester/week's worth of work. Then I learnt I was going on holiday at the end of the week and finished all my work immediately. The incentive of a prize, whether it be one I get to enjoy or an actual symbol of my accomplishments, unfailingly gets me out of ruts.
People & Interactions
15. What qualities do you most like and dislike in other people? What types do you get along with?
I most like loyalty, someone who's always there for you and who'll find sensitive ways to help you, who'll get you off your feet but also understand when you need time to recharge. I appreciate maturity and ambition too. Similarly, I dislike people who are very selfish and always find a way to turn the conversation back on them, who have very rigid viewpoints, who believe they're right without any evidence. It frustrates me when I'm in a debate and someone doesn't actually provide evidence but infers several things and believes that's enough to try and get me to change my mind.
16. How do you feel about romance/sex? What qualities do you want in a partner?
I personally believe romance is an important part of my life, or will be. I put work and other aspects (friends and family) of my social life above it for now, but I definitely think it's important, for me. Again, I would want someone who's loyal, open to expressing their own emotions, can take care of and be taken care of. I would want someone who likes to work and achieve things, just as I do, but not someone as vain and success-centered as me. Perhaps someone who understands the deeper things in life, and the abstract concepts I don't always comprehend.
17. If you were to raise a child, what would be your main concerns, what measures would you take, and why?
My main concerns would be the way the world treats them and how that might affect their mental health and view of the world. I would hopefully be equipped enough to equip them with the life and social skills needed to keep safe. I wouldn't helicopter them, but I'd want them to firstly be able to protect themselves and secondly, be able to turn to their secure headquarters (i.e. their parents) if they ever felt insecure, tired, worn out or helpless. I'd want them to know they matter and their opinion matters but to prevent them from having too high expectations of themself, that could give way to immense disappointment and stress later.
18. A friend makes a claim that clashes with your current beliefs. What is your inward and outward reaction?
My inward reaction is 'How dare they? They're absolutely wrong, why can't they see that?' My outward reaction is to calmly express my opinion and if they turn the disagreement into something ugly, I'll politely agree to disagree. If it's something compromises my values absolutely, then I might have to end the friendship or distance myself so much that we turn into acquaintances.
19. Describe your relationship to society. How do you see people as a whole? What do you consider a prevalent social problem? Name one.
Society is what it is. I appreciate it for its merits, like its ability to change politics with the court of public opinion, establish and spell out new moral codes as the world and people progress and unite people. Sometimes I believe it stifles and alienates people, sometimes for good reason and other times needlessly and unfairly. However, as a whole, I don't have a very divisive relationship with it.
People as a whole are complex. I don't have a single adjective to describe them except complex, because we can all value similar things yet seek to achieve them in vastly different and divisive ways. It's difficult because there's no rulebook to accomplishing change, because compromise is sometimes necessary while rigidity and refusing to move is another important tactic that's brought us tremendous change. I think, as people, we find some things challenging to deal with, because we get conflicting advise from history and then different circumstances and a new context to work within. The most prevalent social problem, summed up, is inequality. That everyone's voice isn't heard and thus everyone isn't fairly accounted for, when making rules and laws.
20. How do you choose your friends and how do you behave around them?
I choose my friends by judging how we bond over common interests and then our ability to converse and connect beyond them. I keep composed around them, although I show them my frivolous side sometimes. I'm humorous and playful too, but I can't open up too much.
21. How do you behave around strangers?
I'm very reserved around strangers. I'm polite in interactions, like if I were to pass them by I'd say excuse me, of course, and thank them for holding the door, but I don't really interact much with people I don't know.
