“The Personal Index Essay looks more like a list of data than any kind of personal essay–but upon close reading, it reveals more about the author than explicitly appears in the text. Successful pieces reveal new information through the combining of fragments, offer a poetic turn, and are concise enough to enjoy in under 2 minutes.”
11 – times I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test
11 – times I’ve gotten the result of INFP on the MBTI personality test
1 – times I’ve taken the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) career assessment test
∞ – times parents and teachers have told me I can do anything
0 –times the MTBI has suggested I can do anything
0 – times the SII has told me I can do anything
0 – times a qualified psychiatrist has told me I can do anything
0 – times I’ve seen a qualified psychiatrist
33 – My ACT score
36 – What I would have scored on the ACT if math didn’t exist
63% – my grade in precalc before I dropped the class
6/7 – kids in my elementary advanced class who completed the timed multiplication assignment (TMA)
4 – number of months I was the only one taking the TMA
1 – times my elementary advanced class teacher has given up on a student
∞ – number of times parents and teachers have told me I will need math in college
0 – math classes I need to take at [name of college] for a B.A. in English
3 – meters a single human cell’s DNA would be if it was stretched out
99.5% – similarity of any one human’s genes to any other’s
0 – humans that are genetically identical
16 – number of MBTI personality types
0 – questions about clouds, trees, glass-making, geckoes, or kite-flying on the ACT
>7 billion – number of personalities on earth
1 – Number of people that have the exact personality traits and skill-sets that I do
∞ – things people on this planet can accomplish, combining their unique talents and personalities
9 – number of acronyms in this essay
Note: I wrote this essay for my creative writing class in April of 2017. Since then, I have taken the MBTI test several more times, seen a therapist a couple of times, and learned more about writing well. But I found this as I was looking through some old work of mine, and there was something about it that charmed me so I thought I’d put it on this blog.