Blog Post #11

I believe I have a pretty good personality. Some of my personality traits that are positive are that I am generally a happy person. I try to make the best out of the bad. Also I am a fun person. I like to have fun and laugh. Another postitive trait of mine is that I feel I am funny. I can make people laugh if they aren't feelin the best and crack jokes with friends. I'm also a very friendly person. I try to be friends with most people that I meet unless I just can't stand them. One other postivive personality trait of mine is that I like to get things done. When I start something I am usually pretty determined to get it done, and get it done right. I don't like to put things off until the last minute. Along with my positive traits, I do have some negative traits. Sometimes I am to sarcastic. Others can get upset with me because I am joking around. Another not so positive trait of mine is that I can be very stubborn. If I don't want to do something, then I'm not gonna do it. Friends and family can try to convince me but I usually won't give in. One other trait that can be negative is that for some reason I like to make small things organized and balanced. Whenever I am messing around with even simple things I try to put them into a pattern or organize them. I'm not quite sure why I do it but I just do and sometimes it can be annoying.

For the most part I think I am optimistic. I try to make the best out of things and always think it can be done. One example of where I am optimistic is in football. Even if we were losing by two touchdowns and everyone was giving up, I still felt we could get back into the game and at least make it close. My optimism drove my determination and I never wanted to give up. Even though I am generally optimistic, I also see the reality in things. A lot of people are optimistic in sports and think they can do things that are in reality not very likely. I like to be realistic about it. For instance, I know that the chances of playing in the NFL are slim to none. I'm not gonna pick a college that is very big and possibly make the team in hopes of playing in the pros. I am picking a college that is going to give me a good education, even if their football program isn't very good. I guess if totally optimistic were a 10 and totally pesimistic a 1 I would be about a 7.

My traits change with the situation I am in. If I were in the middle of a huge assignment that was due the next day I would be less funny and joking and more serious and determined. I might be a little more grumpy if bothered because I would just want to get the assignment done, then I could have fun. Another time that my personality traits change is when I either am playing football or wrestling. I become less of a nice guy and a lot of the times I just feel pissed off at the world. The change just happens with the sport. It's the adrenaline rush and the attitude that helps you play. In a football game, if you are just a nice guy that doesn't want to hit and tackle anyone then you are gonna get embarassed. The other team will just run all over you and not respect you. As a defensive lineman I just wanna beat the guy across from me every play. It makes them give up in their mind. They know they can't stop you and pretty soon it gets easier and easier to beat them. It works both ways. If you are being a softy then they know they can beat you and eventually you break down. You give up and they just keep going after you.

Everyone uses defense mechanisms. One example of a defense mechanism that I have used is repression. Repression is when you banish anxiety-arousing wishes from consciousness. One of my grandmothers had a stroke when I was younger. It was a rough time for me because I didn't know why my grandmother was acting strange. Now that I am a little older I just can't remember my grandmother in her stroke state. I can't rember what I felt when I visited her or anything. Another defense mechanism that I remember using is regression. When you regress you retreat to an earlier, more infantile stage of development. Once when I was I think somewhere around the age of 7, I slipped on the ice and cracked my chin open. I cried and went to my mom for comfort. I clung to her knowing that she would try to make me feel better. One other defense mechanism that I have used is displacement. I diverted my agression toward an object that wasn't living and wouldn't feel anything. I remember I was younger and mad at something. I think I was mad at my sister and knew not to hit her. Instead I went to my room and hit a pillow. You can punch a pillow all you want and it's not going to get hurt or be mad at you. It was just a way of relieving my aggression and going back to normal.