Self-Awareness Is Good, But I Find Some Of This Questionable

/ Ally Bean

For better or worse I’ve taken some online quizzes…

• THE FIRST QUIZ  I took was Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Quiz.  It is HERE.

My results tell me I’m a QUESTIONER, meaning I “Resist outer expectations, Meet inner expectations.”  While it might be heavy-handed to say that I questioned my results, I [of course] did.

Or at least I did initially.

However upon reflection, I’ve decided to embrace my natural tendency to question.  Hence I give you my results from two other online quizzes I took, in which I found myself questioning my results.

Like the questioner I am.

• + • + •

• THE SECOND QUIZ that I’d like to talk about is Test Your Emoji Exceptionalism.  It is HERE.

My results tell me that I barely know squat about emojis.

I’ve no difficulty owning up to this assessment of my emoji knowledge.  What I find myself questioning is why I should know more about emojis– and how many gazillion of them are there now?

I don’t hate on the things, silly as they are;  I use about 10 of them and that seems plenty to me.  But what I’m unclear about is why I need to educate myself about emojis when I can still use my words effectively to convey my message.

Just saying, no disrespect intended.

• + • + •

• THE THIRD QUIZ that I took was Which Era Is Your Soul From?  It is HERE.

According to my results I belong in the Victorian Era.  This is because I “believe in remaining optimistic in a world that is sometimes against you.”

I’m reluctant to accept this result, feeling that if there’s one era I most definitely do not belong in, it’s the Victorian Era.

If my results had said I belonged in the Flapper Age I’d be all *woot, woot* count me in, where’s the gin?  Or if my results had suggested that I belonged in the 1940s when women kept this country going while the men went to war, I’d be all move over Rosie, time for me to get riveting.

My optimistic soul would fit into those eras, but the Victorian Era when women were corseted and stuck at home with the vapors only doing domestic things?

Well, that’s not me… at all.

114 thoughts on “Self-Awareness Is Good, But I Find Some Of This Questionable”

  1. I might be better at emojis if I could see them. I’m the same way with icons. Apparently the millennials all have better eyesight than I do, even though you would never think that if you watched one of them parallel park. As it is, if I feel it’s important for me to see and understand an emoji, I have to copy and paste it into notepad and change the font size to 72. The results are usually disappointing.

    Liked by 6 people

    • Roy, laughing out loud here. Thank you for your support regarding the emojis. I can barely see them, too. They’re so small; I never thought to enlarge them with a bigger font. 🤔

      But on the other hand I can [in theory] still parallel park my car. So there. 🚗

      Liked by 3 people

    • I thought it was just me! They all look like blobs except for the smiley faces. Never thought of copy, paste and enlarging. Sounds like too much work. If someone wants to say something important to me, please use words.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Kate, I tend to agree with you. I think of emojis like cave drawings. Good when that’s all you have, but with the advent of letters, why not use words? 🤷‍♀️ [woman shrugging emoji added for decorative purposes]

        Liked by 2 people

        • My nieces send me messages that end with emojis that I have no idea what they are. I would not have know that was a woman shrugging. The one next to it looks like a stick person to me without legs. Perhaps there is a class?

          Liked by 2 people

          • Kate, I have this idea that people who use lots of !!! are taken with emojis so they use them liberally. I have nothing against emojis, but I don’t think they say as much as specific words do. Of course I majored in English, so what do you expect?

            Liked by 3 people

  4. Yeah…I did a ton of coursework in the Victorian Era. Their little summary is kind of odd and not really a terrific assessment of the Victorian Mindset overall. Or its literature or its humour or much of anything. Maybe a bit of its food? Optimism wasn’t really much of a Victorian thing…Faking It, more like it. 😉

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hee hee–I wanted to hurriedly clarify: I did my coursework ABOUT the Victorian Era, not actually DURING the Victorian Era (although sometimes, it sure feels that long ago)!

      Liked by 1 person

      • nance, I read your first comment and kind of wondered, but I’m a polite soul so I didn’t want to pry about how old you really are. You could be a vampire for all I know!

        I only remember the Victorian Era as part of history/literature courses and that I thought every little thing about it was twee and restricting. I cannot speak to how the quiz was created, but I’m with you in that optimism is not my impression of the Victorian Era.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Well thank you much Ally Bean! My day off so after buying a few groceries I think I will partake in these little quizzes myself and see what I get. Although what if I turn out to not be the person I believe I am…? That may mean a drastic life change 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, these quizzes are good time wasters. [An oxymoron?] I don’t go looking for online quizzes, but when I stumble over them who am I to not take them? I trust that whatever your results may be, you’ll be able to live your life to its fullest. You’re just that kind of adaptable woman!

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  8. Great fun! I took all three quizzes. I’m a rebel, which I tend to agree with. I do think you are a questioner.
    I know nothing about emojis! I only got 4 out of 12. I flunked!!
    And the last one says I’m from the 1950’s era. I agree with that one, too. It emphasizes family, friends and work.
    I do not see you in the Victorian era! Much too restricting in many ways!
    Fun post!

    Like

    • Beth, oh I admit to being a questioner– always have been, always will be I suppose. A rebel? Interesting. The emoji test was eye-opening [no pun intended] in that I had no idea there were so many of those dumb little things. You landed in the 1950s, eh? I get that. Thanks for taking the time to do the quizzes. They are if nothing else, entertaining.

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  9. 1. You belong in the Victorian Age where . . .
    2. You question/resist outer expectations (like wearing a corset) and you honor/meet your inner expectations for COMFORT! (While sipping a gin and flapping away, natch).
    3. Any one who doesn’t care for your latitude (& optimistic attitude) about attire gets a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Fun quizzes, Ally!! I couldn’t see the emojis clearly either. Still, I got 6/12…without having any clue of the answer to any of them! I also discovered that I belong to the 1950’s. Although the music was fun…I think I’ll stay in our current time.
    Thanks for an entertaining start to the morning!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Donna, I’d love to see the emojis clearly but my eyes, even with my new specs, don’t see them well. I get that they’re a thing, but one that will remain on the periphery of my life. You in the 1950s? Maybe, but like you said you seem too current for that era.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I found a lot of online quizzes questionable. Unless of course they are highly flattering and conform to my perception of self. Then of course they are completely and unerringly accurate! 😉
    Deb
    p.s. my era is supposed to be the 50’s. Seriously???

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, yes, I know these online quizzes are dubious at best. But I can’t resist the draw of them. Fortunately I’m also an emotionally balanced person who doesn’t take my results too seriously. You in the 1950s? No fricking way. 😖

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Challenge accepted, although why I feel I have the time to play games I don’t know. My emoji score was pitiful, 4/11, although I use them all the time when I am texting my kids. My favorite is the shrugging shoulders and the hand on the forehead. I am looking for them to come out with one that is for hugging. Right now I use the two arrows going in a circle. I am an Obliger, which makes sense. I want everyone to be happy because if everyone around me is happy, then I am happy too. My era is the 1950’s. I was born in ’55 so I guess is pretty close. Happy Thursday!

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    • Janet, well you know if you’re an Obliger, you felt obliged to take these quizzes. 😀 Your practical knowledge of emojis is better than mine, so don’t let the results of this quiz tell you otherwise. You’re the person who pointed me to the shrugging woman, an emoji that I use almost daily. Your era is the 1950s. I can see that, it suits you [unless you don’t want it to, in which case feel free to pick any era you like].

      Liked by 1 person

  15. I did these quizzes and found I was 40% with the emoijis…well hell I was born BEFORE they existed. Is it a wonder?

    I’m an obliger. Yeah. Always have been. Next?

    I got ‘Victorian’ era too. I suspect it had to do with either the Dickens or the foggy climate OR maybe those boots… I wouldn’t consider myself a Victorian, but I have a cousin who would fit nicely into that.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Melanie, you make a good point about the emojis. We all were born before they existed, decades before I’d guess. Plus, they’re so small.

      Good evaluation of how the heck we got Victorian Era. It doesn’t fit me at all, but like you, I known a couple of women who were up to their eyeballs in that kind of thinking & stuff.

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    • waterbearer211, hello fellow Questioner. I imagine there are a lot of us. Call me an emoji minimalist. 🙄 Interesting choice for your soul’s era. Better than Victorian Era, if you ask me.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. I think being a Questioner is great. I’d be happy with that – but I question their need for my email address so I was unable to complete the survey.

    Emojis. Yeah, whatever 🤪

    The last one was interesting though. Some of the questions made me blink. I don’t think Victorian Era suits you either. Ugh – what an oppressive time period for being a woman! Apparently I have a 50s soul. I’m ok with that. I was born in the 50s so I guess it fits 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joanne, I wasn’t required to give my email address. I just got the results. Wonder if it has to do with where you live, she says questioning this development.

      Many of the commenters here have 1950s souls so you’re in good company. I refuse to believe that I could be a Victorian. I just won’t…

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  19. I got one out of twelve emoji questions right – purely by guessing. Don’t even know what emoji I should use to express my not caring about my emoji knowledge score.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Z-D, I think that either 🙄 or 😜 might be what you’re looking for. The first is rolling your eyes; I use this one often. The second is [and I quote] “winking face with stuck-out tongue.” I haven’t used this one, but it has a certain rightness to it for your message.

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    • Sheila, I’ve always been a flapper wannabe, longing for the drinks and the bobbed hair and the dresses. I could learn the Charleston. But Victorian Era? That’s not my soul. There’s something wrong with that quiz. I’m sure of it! 🙃

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  21. I’m a rebel who doesn’t know her emoji’s and should live in the 1950’s according to these. I’ve taken the Rubin one before (I read a book she wrote about it) and I think it’s bunk. I’m WAY too conscientious to be a rebel. (I remember my sister once asking me why I didn’t just ignore my parents crazy rules instead of arguing with to change them and I was like “you can DO that? How?!? There are RULES!!” But I don’t know my emojis or memes to be honest.

    Liked by 1 person

    • katie, I wonder about the tendencies, too. The four categories seem too pat to me, not allowing for any nuances or reality. They make a pretty graphic, but after that I dunno. I’ve not read the book so it’s interesting to hear your take on it.

      That’s funny about your young self not knowing you could ignore the rules, takes your chances. I grew up with strict parents so I can see how it could happen, but I leaned more toward you sister’s point of view, perhaps being a bit of a rebel in my own quiet way. 😊

      Like

  22. I don’t have much patience with quizzes, but I took the quiz about eras and found out I am stuck in the 1950s. Oh, well, not too dramatic.

    About emojis: I use the ones on my cellphone app. While we’re at it, I am flummoxed by some internet-speak. It took me a while to figure out LMKWYT meant.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. I shall be taking all these quizzes very soon because…now I NEED to know. I’m a sucker for these, although I also question the results. Surely I am more complex than that? 😉

    Liked by 1 person

        • I can see how your soul is from the 1950s and if you’re my opposite that’s a good thing. We need balance in this world! I know enough about emojis to use a few with confidence, but I can assure you I don’t need or want to know more than the few I use. Words work for me.

          Like

  24. Ally Bean, we are the same here. I am a questioner. I am 45% in my emoji knowledge. I am from the Victorian era.
    I am NOT romantic, I don’t care what it says.
    Also, people tell me I ask too many questions, but at my job, they VALUE that. Can you imagine? ❤
    Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janis, I bet that you’re right. I never give my email address when asked for it, but will answer the questions, sometimes for real, sometimes to mess with the system. I like your emoji. That one I understand! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  26. My sis-in-law sent me a different test that made me absolutely hostile. I wondered by I needed to know if I was an artist or an idealist. The test seemed rigged toward idealist anyway, because all of us got that score. That said, I’ll probably do the emoji test. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    • L. Marie, I know what you mean. I’ve taken some of these online quizzes and said: no stinking way am I that person! Of course these quizzes are only as accurate as the logic that goes into them, so there’s that. The emoji test was beyond my pay level. I guessed most of the time.

      Like

  27. Well, I am glad you chose to question your quiz results. Your response to the Victorian era result is a hoot!

    I never do quizzes (though you could put me back in my Cosmo era days and I’d happily play along). Probably I don’t really want to know what boxes 📦 other people think I belong in. 🤔👽👩‍🍳👨‍🚒🧟‍♂️🐍

    Liked by 1 person

    • Eilene, I developed my love of these stupid quizzes from Cosmo and Glamour. I place the blame firmly there.

      Oddly enough I like to see the boxes that other people want to put me in. I feel it’s insightful and somehow gives me a kick. However, I don’t take any of my results too seriously… except that Victorian Era nonsense.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. I didn’t question my teachers when they told me that one day I’d have to use this boring math I was learning in real life. Apparently I should have paid a bit more attention in emoji class as well since nobody told me there’d be a test…

    Liked by 1 person

  30. “Despite what life throws at you, you face it looking amazing.” What the ever-living f*ck? If life is throwing things at you, you need to be in an outfit that, at the very least, allows for easy breathing. Stupid quiz.

    And as for emojis, I didn’t realize we were going to be tested on those. *starts studying dumb little graphics in my phone*

    Liked by 1 person

  31. That Victoria ere is not me either
    –
    Great post ally bean and was hinting about you and glad I saw you over at joey’s blog!
    Hope you are well and thanks so much for the quiz links – I am going to check them out later this month!

    Liked by 1 person

      • Ha – I think it is all about self awareness and the sum of many parts –
        But the four letter TYPE is really good to know – some counselors will
        Ask your Meyers Briggs type cos it is insightful and I know someone who writes down the four letters of his friends – it is the 16 personalities link

        Like

          • Well you are so right – these TYPEs are huge in HR! And not so much in empirical
            Research – they use the five factor model (big 5) but I love the types. One time I sat at a table with four others with my type and we had so much chemistry – so cool

            Liked by 1 person

  34. I couldn’t get past the 43% mark in G. Rubin’s quiz–probably because I found an exception in all of my answers. For instance, it depends on who the “someone” is if they were to ask me to do something. If my MIL asked me to help her out during my pre-planned writing hour, I would do it. If it was an acquaintance, no I wouldn’t. So for questions like that I couldn’t give a surefire answer. What does that make me?

    I have doubts about quizzes like that only because there are so many conditions that could change my answer. I didn’t try the other two. I’m with you on emoji knowledge. I like the nature ones and the smiley ones the best.

    I am curious about my soul’s era, however …

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, I found the Rubin quiz to be too simplistic, like you did. Of course, I’ve been known to say, repeatedly, “context is the key, context is the key,” so those vague scenarios for the questions did cause me consternation.

      Emojis are cute, and I have nothing against them– but words are better.

      My soul doesn’t belong in the Victorian Age so I have little faith in the results on that quiz. But it was fun to take, so there you go. I’m such a sucker for these quizzes. 🙄

      Like

  35. Well, with Spellcheck being unreliable and Auto correct on cell phones being overly bossy and assuming they know it all, I guess you are right about cave drawings – we’re back to those for a good part of the younger crowds.
    Maybe you are Victorian age – but only part of the elites who could discard convention and be wild as they wished: Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein – which is supposed to be anti- Victorian age as much as agains the Industrial Revolution and science. Her mom was a feminist and her dad considered a radical novelist. She ran around with a educated bunch with a lot of wild radical ideas…perhaps…. maybe….?

    Liked by 1 person

    • philmouse, I had no idea there were so many emojis when I took that quiz. They’re cute, sure– but cave paintings come to my mind when I see a string of them somewhere. I use them to accessorize my words, not in place of my words.

      Interesting theory about how I got Victorian Era for my soul. You could be right that the people who created the quiz interpreted that age from a Mary Shelly point of view. Sure, that could explain it, but I’m still saying that my soul is not Victorian. I want to be flapping or riveting, darn it.

      Liked by 1 person

  36. I’m very wary of online quizzes—even though I am currently analysing a survey. I read recently that they are often just a trick to get access to your personal information. I can see why they appeal, though!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. I live in Maine, where naturally lobster is king… (or queen as the case may be.) And unbeknownst to me, our great state had long been petitioning for a lobster emoji. Why such a thing was necessary I don’t know, but when it finally did roll out? It was anatomically incorrect with only 3 legs on each side. Bwahaha! I thought it was funny….but most Mainers did not.

    Liked by 1 person

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