Hello everyone!

Where has this forum been all of my life!? I've been fascinated with MBTI for years, and am ECSTATIC that I found you all!

I'm looking forward to getting to know each of you, and continuing to dig through the site. For now I thought I'd say hello and introduce myself, and even ask a couple of questions to the experts out there.

Soo hello! My name's Jackie!

I was eager to write this post last night, but figured I should wait until I read more about Socionics before I started rambling, and I'm really glad that I did! For years and years, I've always tested as an ENFP on the standard MBTI. But after taking the Socionics test last night, and looking a little closer at the mechanics and depth behind the standard four letters, it seems that I'm an EIE (1Fe - ENFj - ). This extroverted feeling, introverted intuition seems to be a much better fit for me, but I'm still learning how to think outside of the MBTI box.

Although I'm only 28, I've already had three vastly different careers, all of which revolved around people- from Department of Defense conference planning in Europe & Africa, to collaborating with IT software developers, to my current profession of teaching guitar & piano. I've always known that what I do is not nearly as important as who I do it with. I also find that my emotional state is (sadly) often dependent on what I believe others perceive of me, especially when it comes to my physique and general aura. You'd think something of such paramount importance would make me prioritize my own physical and health needs, but it takes a build-up of critical mass for me to try and fix it. I'm so externally motivated and energized that I willingly re-direct my priorities towards others at times, yet I find myself retreating inward when I'm sad, when I know perfectly well that I'm empowered by other people (and sunshine).

I've only been in love once, and that is with my husband. We've only been married 8 months now, and he is about as polar opposite of me as possible. But from the moment we met, it was as if I always had to be touching him, as if he was my other half and I just needed to be touching him to make up for lost time. There was an attraction there unlike anything I'd experienced before- in fact, I tucked myself under his arm on our first date, which is something that I just don't do. I've always been a "3 dates and done" kind of girl, simply because I never wanted to get involved in a long, drawn out, emotional break-up. Everyone was a friend, but maybe I knew that once I loved, it would be far too much for me to handle the risk of having my heart broken. As soon as I felt and observed my husband to be of strong character and stability, I fell head over heels for him.

Unlike me, he's always saying that he wants to become really, really good at one thing. He's a licensed and practicing dentist, and loves doing the same thing over and over again until he's mastered it. He's always been a bit of a loner and more complex (or less transparent) individual. He almost likes the fact that he's an engima, but I'm one of the few people that understand him- even his family doesn't seem to understand him. He's quiet, but steadfast and dependable, sometimes brooding, and a little cold when it comes to matters of justice. That seems to be of paramount importance to him- justice, doing what's right, doing your job and doing it well, and abiding by rules so that everyone is fairly compensated for time and efforts. He LOVES to analyze movies (especially super hero & sci fi films), and will often spend more hours reading and thinking about movies than watching them, all of which suits me fine, because I love sci fi and fantasy, and our discussions allow me insight into his thinking.

I've tried to get him to take the MBTI, but he's stubborn to these ideas that people can be defined by exams. I don't know enough about socionics to identify him, but I personally think he is an ISTJ, but I can't be certain. I've done some reading on Guardians as well, as he and his family (all dentists and pharmacists), all fall into the Guardian category. He strives to provide, and typically prefers to show his affections by procuring (buying me a guitar, providing a house and home, and generally being dependent and steady). He's more of a concrete speaker, whereas I tend to speak metaphorically, often relating people and their needs to dog breeds and their needs and energy levels. He also calls me the Emotional Butterfly, but I think I've come a long way in understanding myself and getting a better handle on my needs to mitigate some of the emotional blips. And even though he's not vocal about it, nor does he show it until after the fact, he usually sees my point of view two or three days after the fact. I like to think of it as planting seeds in his mind. He never gets excited for things until after they've happened, it seems, which is a shame! I try my best to plant the seeds early so he can enjoy some of the more memorable experiences of life, as he was always telling me he wished he would have done more.

Maybe you all can help typecast us. I was looking at the Inter relation chart, trying to understand what we have together. At first, I thought we were ENFP/ISTJ, which was conflict. But the more I read about socionics, the more I see our relationship being closer to an EIE / LSI. We don't ever fight. In fact, we've never had a fight in the 2 years we've been together. We're both extremely appreciative of each other's strengths, and understand each other's roles when it comes to the home, social events, and general romance. If anything, I struggle with feelings of isolation simply because he's not in-tune with my needs unless I tell him directly (which I'm getting better at), and I'm sure he struggles with my lack of consistency and my general neglect in prioritizing my own needs at times. Aside from that, I just flat out love the man, and really can't help myself. But again, we're still early on in our marriage, and I most definitely go through the more volatile stages than he.

I appreciate any and all input! Here's a picture of us! Apparently you can start to typecast by face? I was unaware, but can't wait to learn more!

Drop me a message sometime and introduce yourself! I'd love to speak with you, too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgladden/6554528085/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgladden/6264895383/