Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Blast From the Past

I was digging through some old files the other day, and came across this essay from January of 1987, almost 20 years ago. I was 16 at the time, in high school, and we had to write a "Personality Sketch" for our Sociology class.

Outwardly, I am an extrovert, always trying to be part of the group, cracking jokes, always trying I am contributing somehow to the group experience. Sarcasm is a trademark of my humor, but often it goes too far, and someone gets hurt. In my approach to life I am basically laid back. I try not to let things bother me too much. But I have an awful temper, and I am often extremely stubborn. I can be extremely obstinant over stupid things.
...
Even though my dealings are mostly on an intrustive, extroverted level, I really am an introvert at heart. At times I feel truly lonely, and my (outward) personality is, to a large extent, an attempt to hide this insecurity. However, I really do like people, and I try to live each day as if it were the last.


Man, 20 years and not much has changed. I can't tell if that's really depressing, or oddly comforting.

1 comment:

Denise said...

It's consistent, and you're still WAYYYYY too hard on yourself. I've found in writing, you have to be somewhat introverted to find your inner voice. You have the luxury of having a dual personality in that regard, Jeff. It's not a liability at all.

My all-time favorite story you wrote is "The Grass Don't Give A S**T." My all-time favorite and quite a wonderful lesson.