Feel free to scroll down... I'm going to do my best to give you a holistic view of what it's like being me!
My personality:
I often find it quite hard to describe myself and my personality, so I thought I would delegate some of this to the internet - I look a Meyers-Briggs test after the first day of the course in the hope that it would help me out. I take these tests every so often and use the website 16 personalities to take them. The results should be taken with a pinch of salt and I know that my results change slightly every time I take a test, so it's more of a guide than gospel, but I hope you find it useful. I'll talk over my results a bit as well.
Here's a whole list of the different kinds of personalities, in case you're interested. My personality for my most recent test was an ENTP. E stands for extraverted (over introverted), N for intuition (over observing), T for thinking (over feeling) and P for perceiving (over judging).
Every time I take this test, I oscillate really closely between extraverted and introverted. I think I'm really on the border of the two and this will change depending to how comfortable I feel in a situation. For example, when under pressure and also in a relaxed setting with people I'm comfortable with, I become more extraverted, direct and outspoken. From memory I also move a bit between thinking and feeling, but I always get a P and I always get an N. Apparently, according to the results of the test, my strengths are curiosity, good communicator, lots of energy and some weaknesses include bad organisation, lack of focus, gets stressed easily and too independent - I'll leave it up to you to tell me if you think they're wrong or right!
How I get my best work done:
Especially when faced with lots of text, I really appreciate some time to just read through it by myself and understand it before discussing it with other people. I also do like to talk ideas through with someone, repeating concepts I find more difficult in my own words once someone has explained them to me.
Since starting the course, I have enjoyed pair programming more than I expected to and have found it especially useful in areas that I am weaker in.
I can be quite scatty when coding, and while building my website would sometimes get bored of trying to fix one area if it was taking too long, and would move onto another one on the same branch/commit, when really I should have just finished what I was working on. I would also have an idea pop into my head and suddenly want to work on that, so my attention would move away from whatever I was working on. I have found that over the first two weeks of the FAC course this hasn't been too much of a problem because we've been good at keeping to do lists (it helps when I've got a list and I can check things off) and also because pair programming helps me to concentrate on a problem more.
The role I usually take in a team:
This great friend/mentor of mine first introduced me to the idea of 'strong opinions, loosely held'. It's something I like to practice, so in a team and a project situation I will often put forward an strong opinion - but it'll be loosely held, and something I'm not attached to - so please do always feel like you can disagree and put forward other opinions! I've also noticed over the last two weeks that I like to make the little decisions (like colour schemes, fonts, etc) very quickly, even if it's not to my personal taste - by doing this I feel we can spend more time on the difficult stuff!
In a team, I'm happy to lead or sit back and let someone else do it - I feel more confident leading on areas I have more knowledge in, but am getting better at learning to lead even when it feels less uncomfortable.
My communication style:
I think I have an assertive communication style - I try very hard not to be aggressive, and hate being interrupted myself (unless it's one of those conversations where everyone's interrupting everyone and building on each other's contributions and ideas), so I will never try and interrupt anyone else on purpose - and will apologise on the occasions I find myself doing it. I would also not say I'm passive, and would rather fill a silence with words than let everyone sit quietly and not communicate. I try hard to mediate and find middle ground between people and really value the opinions of others.
What I value:
Taking breaks! Especially on Thursdays - spending the whole day working intensely on the projects, I think it's important to remember to get some air and get away from our screens.
What people misunderstand about me:
I think sometimes when I give feedback I concentrate more on improvements than praise - and it's not because there aren't good things to say, I just assume that because I'm aware of the good things, then so is everyone else. But I know how important it is for me to get positive feedback, so this is something I'm aware of though and am trying to improve.
I can also be quite sarcastic and I'm aware that sometimes this can be misunderstood - I only tend to do it around people I'm comfortable with, but let me know if it's a problem!
How I like to get my feedback:
When it comes to my work, I think I appreciate honest and clear feedback. I try to come across as relaxed about my work but it does really mean a lot to me and I'll always do my best to take feedback (both positive and constructive) on board.
Technical strengths & weaknesses:
I really enjoy the design and CSS aspects of creating websites and apps. I've also had a bit of experience using branches as I used them for my website. Command line is completely new to me but I think I've got my head around it, although sometimes I have to double check which command to use!
The logic side of Javascript is probably a bit of a weakness, but it's getting easier and more intuitive as the course progresses. I also think I'm a lot better at studying other code, working out what it does and then using the bits I need than writing a complete js file from scratch.
Interests (programming or otherwise!):
Travelling. Cliche I know, but I love exploring new places and cultures. I spent 2017 working on a Mediterranean cruise ship so got to visit loads of cool and interesting places then, and have also done a fair amount of travelling around that.
I studied History at university, so I really enjoy learning and reading about different worlds, times and cultures (which is probably also why I like travelling, too). I can find any period of history fascinating given enough time to read about it, but I especially enjoy 16th century western European political and religious history. While at university, I also studied the history of food, of drink and disorder in Early Modern England and the history of friendship. I wrote my final year dissertation on the effect of football on the rise of nationalism in Brazil, between 1933 and 1962.
Proof that the medieval times were fun and games:
One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to do at least 2 cultural things a month for every month of 2019. They don't carry over, so doing more than 2 in a month is allowed but does not gain you any extra credit and you can't carry over to the next month. Consequently, I go to the theatre, like, a LOT, especially the National Theatre and The Globe, where standing tickets are only £5! If you're ever interested in joining me, just let me know! I normally go by myself or with my boyfriend, so it would be nice to have some other company.
Yoga - I've been doing lessons at least once a week for the past year, and have been steadily increasing the amount I do, to the point that for about three weeks in June, I did about 4 yoga lessons a week. It's super rewarding to be able to do poses that made me fall flat on my face a year ago, like crow pose below.
Now my body feels all funny if I don't do at least one lesson a week, so I'm hoping that I can still fit in a couple of lessons a week around FAC commitments. I'm a member of MoreYoga - luckily there's a studio just around the corner from Space4!
gminova
commented
5 years ago
@georgiamshaw
Hello! I'm Georgia...
Birthday: 9th March
Feel free to scroll down... I'm going to do my best to give you a holistic view of what it's like being me!
My personality:
I often find it quite hard to describe myself and my personality, so I thought I would delegate some of this to the internet - I look a Meyers-Briggs test after the first day of the course in the hope that it would help me out. I take these tests every so often and use the website 16 personalities to take them. The results should be taken with a pinch of salt and I know that my results change slightly every time I take a test, so it's more of a guide than gospel, but I hope you find it useful. I'll talk over my results a bit as well.
Here's a whole list of the different kinds of personalities, in case you're interested. My personality for my most recent test was an ENTP. E stands for extraverted (over introverted), N for intuition (over observing), T for thinking (over feeling) and P for perceiving (over judging).
Every time I take this test, I oscillate really closely between extraverted and introverted. I think I'm really on the border of the two and this will change depending to how comfortable I feel in a situation. For example, when under pressure and also in a relaxed setting with people I'm comfortable with, I become more extraverted, direct and outspoken. From memory I also move a bit between thinking and feeling, but I always get a P and I always get an N. Apparently, according to the results of the test, my strengths are curiosity, good communicator, lots of energy and some weaknesses include bad organisation, lack of focus, gets stressed easily and too independent - I'll leave it up to you to tell me if you think they're wrong or right!
How I get my best work done:
Especially when faced with lots of text, I really appreciate some time to just read through it by myself and understand it before discussing it with other people. I also do like to talk ideas through with someone, repeating concepts I find more difficult in my own words once someone has explained them to me.
Since starting the course, I have enjoyed pair programming more than I expected to and have found it especially useful in areas that I am weaker in.
I can be quite scatty when coding, and while building my website would sometimes get bored of trying to fix one area if it was taking too long, and would move onto another one on the same branch/commit, when really I should have just finished what I was working on. I would also have an idea pop into my head and suddenly want to work on that, so my attention would move away from whatever I was working on. I have found that over the first two weeks of the FAC course this hasn't been too much of a problem because we've been good at keeping to do lists (it helps when I've got a list and I can check things off) and also because pair programming helps me to concentrate on a problem more.
The role I usually take in a team:
This great friend/mentor of mine first introduced me to the idea of 'strong opinions, loosely held'. It's something I like to practice, so in a team and a project situation I will often put forward an strong opinion - but it'll be loosely held, and something I'm not attached to - so please do always feel like you can disagree and put forward other opinions! I've also noticed over the last two weeks that I like to make the little decisions (like colour schemes, fonts, etc) very quickly, even if it's not to my personal taste - by doing this I feel we can spend more time on the difficult stuff!
In a team, I'm happy to lead or sit back and let someone else do it - I feel more confident leading on areas I have more knowledge in, but am getting better at learning to lead even when it feels less uncomfortable.
My communication style:
I think I have an assertive communication style - I try very hard not to be aggressive, and hate being interrupted myself (unless it's one of those conversations where everyone's interrupting everyone and building on each other's contributions and ideas), so I will never try and interrupt anyone else on purpose - and will apologise on the occasions I find myself doing it. I would also not say I'm passive, and would rather fill a silence with words than let everyone sit quietly and not communicate. I try hard to mediate and find middle ground between people and really value the opinions of others.
What I value:
Taking breaks! Especially on Thursdays - spending the whole day working intensely on the projects, I think it's important to remember to get some air and get away from our screens.
What people misunderstand about me:
I think sometimes when I give feedback I concentrate more on improvements than praise - and it's not because there aren't good things to say, I just assume that because I'm aware of the good things, then so is everyone else. But I know how important it is for me to get positive feedback, so this is something I'm aware of though and am trying to improve.
I can also be quite sarcastic and I'm aware that sometimes this can be misunderstood - I only tend to do it around people I'm comfortable with, but let me know if it's a problem!
How I like to get my feedback:
When it comes to my work, I think I appreciate honest and clear feedback. I try to come across as relaxed about my work but it does really mean a lot to me and I'll always do my best to take feedback (both positive and constructive) on board.
Technical strengths & weaknesses:
I really enjoy the design and CSS aspects of creating websites and apps. I've also had a bit of experience using branches as I used them for my website. Command line is completely new to me but I think I've got my head around it, although sometimes I have to double check which command to use! The logic side of Javascript is probably a bit of a weakness, but it's getting easier and more intuitive as the course progresses. I also think I'm a lot better at studying other code, working out what it does and then using the bits I need than writing a complete js file from scratch.
Interests (programming or otherwise!):
Proof that the medieval times were fun and games:
Now my body feels all funny if I don't do at least one lesson a week, so I'm hoping that I can still fit in a couple of lessons a week around FAC commitments. I'm a member of MoreYoga - luckily there's a studio just around the corner from Space4!