My friends know me for my obsession with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test that attempts to categorize people’s traits into four different functions that describe them. I took the test in high school and read the online descriptions for my “type,” INFP. I know that I should be critical of the idea that people can be compartmentalized into sixteen types, but I was drawn in by the eerily accurate summaries of my strengths, weaknesses, dreams, and fears.

So, I was sucked in. I started reading more about Myers Briggs, personality psychology, forums, web articles. I flipped through books at the library. I made my friends take the MBTI and started analyzing people I met in my head, trying to figure out if they were more “thinking” or “feeling,” “sensing” or “intuitive.” (Thank you, friends, for humoring me.)

You don’t have to be as obsessed as me to use the MBTI as a tool to self-reflect on how you perceive the world. But, the MBTI (read with an open mind and critical eye) can be extremely useful for understanding your personal relationships and career aspirations. For example, as an INFP (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving), I know that my strengths lie in my strong values and ideals, insatiable love for profundity and philosophical musings, and compassion. I know that my idealism fuels my commitment to social justice and activism. I relish introspection, whether it’s through reading, writing, or bonding with close friends. I know that at times I have trouble overcoming my extreme dislike of conflict to assert my opinions. I become easily overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy or discouragement from personal failings or criticism.

I want to find the career path that will be the most personally fulfilling. For me, fulfillment is inseparable from the possibility of achieving my ideals of living in a world that is just for all. I know that most of my ideals will never be fulfilled on a grand scale, but I relish in the “microprogressions” that come from making genuine connections with people. It is important to me to work for organizations or institutions that will help me fulfill those ideals, yet give me the freedom to exercise my own agendas and reflect in solitude. Because as an introvert, I want time alone to recharge from socializing. And as a “perceiving” person, I prefer to work on projects on my own pace rather than working within rigid schedules. Since I am also a night owl, I resist the idea of working a 9 to 5 job that would be repetitive and monotonous. Keeping all this in mind while making post-graduation plans, I come to understand my goals and desires much better.

So, here’s a link to a free online test (And I think CP&R has one too). Go take it. And when you’re done, I would be delighted to talk about your results.