Danielle Oyama

Mrs. Yeyna

British Literature

24 March 2017

How well do you know yourself?

What is your personal capital? What are your strengths, skills, passion, purpose?

What evidence you have that these things exist?

While personal capital can be a subjective thing, I believe I possess a few factors of

personal capital. My sense of humor, adaptability, and moral compass are the strengths I strive to

uphold throughout my life. Although it was not inherent, public speaking and advocacy is

something I both enjoy and care about. I seem to talk about it quite often (which is fitting) about

a program I am involved with called Mock Trial. Naturally, the club requires a lot of practice and

work, but I enjoy it so much I do not mind. Opportunities have presented themselves with my

involvement and passion for oral advocacy, which I wouldnt characterize as evidence of my

strength in the field (however it is a nice motivator). I would say that my values dictate my

passion, which is righteousness. I am not characterizing myself as a social justice warrior, in fact

I would say I am very tolerant to opposing views. This tolerance gives way to my sense of

humor. I would define myself as an individual with dry humor, and occasionally callous. Yet this

perspective lightens uncomfortable situations and makes life a little easier. Nonetheless, I

always stand by my own beliefs regardless of the situation. In fact, I sometimes astound myself
at the issues and topics I care about. As far as my purpose, while I struggle daily, I would like to

think I was put in this world to better the lives of others.

What is your intellectual capital? What is your expertise in one or two subjects or

skills? (These do not have to be exclusively academic subjects) What evidence do you have

that you are an expert in these fields?

My intellectual capital slightly carries over into my personal capital. I would never

characterize myself as an expert/intellectual in any field (albeit ironically), but my sarcasm and

manner of thinking are skills I hold. While my parents wouldnt concur, I think my sarcasm, or

rather ability to banter, is a positive attribute I possess. Dont get me wrong, I have my awkward

moments, but my ability to communicate with others is a quality I am proud of. The ability to

casually speak and interact with others, with varying personalities and mindsets, has proven

useful on multiple occasions. My manner of thinking has always been very logical. Which isnt

necessarily a good thing at all times. Insensitivity often presents itself when I am in disputes, but

for the most part I remain constant in my arguments. I recognize what others are saying and

acknowledge them. Additionally, I regularly recognize fallacies in my opponents, and sometimes

my own statements (although I would never admit it). Of course I still have plenty of room for

growth, and perhaps it might just be teenage ignorance, but these are the intellectual attributes I

value in myself.
 Where do you see yourself in September of this year?

In September of 2017, I see myself enrolled in a four year university. My entire high

school career has been based around higher education. There has never been a question as to

whether or not I would go, but rather where. Personally, I believe that the only stable path

towards success in todays society is college. What I will be studying will likely be chemistry, or

something in the sciences. Thankfully, law school does not require a specific undergraduate

major. So, that is a concern I can tackle later in life. Nonetheless, college is where I will be in

September of this year.

List your top 5 strengths with a brief summary of what each strength means:

1. Faith (88%): There was instruction to find my purpose, not to compromise my beliefs,

give others the opportunity to learn about my life and beliefs.

2. Integrity (81%): Stay off teams with slackers, do not sacrifice quality, seek positions

that require unimpeachable ethics, be careful about the responsibilities I choose to undertake.

3. Ambition (81%): Do not change things that are not broken, stop focusing on

weaknesses, pick a career that maximizes my strengths.

4. Leadership (75%): Good at getting individuals to do what needs to be done, evaluate

others, try not to intimidate others with an up-front, aggressive style, help others to understand

myself.

5. Communication (69%): Develop communication skills, seek/listen to the stories of

others, organize/ participate in social events, take advanced public speaking classes.
 List your top weakness with a brief summary of that weakness:

1. Purpose (38%): Only attend events that I am needed, avoid slackers, do not take too

much rest/easy assignments, live in the recognition of an achievement and then move on.

In narrative form, thoroughly describe what you discovered about yourself from this

strength assessment. Did you know your strengths and weakness or did you discover

something new? What was it and how are you going to apply it?

Call me a narcissist, but I have always enjoyed taking personal assessment tests. I do

carry some doubts about the validity of these exams, as the results are just amplified reflections

of how I view myself personally. However, this quiz differed from the typical assessments I

usually take. The strengths and weaknesses I received were quite surprising. As an individual, I

have never deemed myself as someone who has a lot of faith. Not in the religious prospect, but

rather the ability to just let things happen. Yet faith was my number one strength. The

description of this characterization clarified this, stating that I should allow others in and stay

true to my beliefs. Integrity is an understandable factor, I cant remember how many times I have

said its about the principle during an argument. Ambition and leadership were both confusing

qualities, in fact I have often thought those were my weaknesses. I have always shied away from

direct confrontation; while I enjoy debating, I never call individuals out arbitrarily. Though its

refreshing to think that, with effort and practice, I could eventually become an ambitious leader.

Communication is something I expected, some of my core values are based on speaking to others
about problems. I have always valued the power of discussion, however there is a lot of growth

to be done as to how I communicate with others. My bottom weakness was purpose, which was

confusing because I would think it would be one of my major faults. If I am disinterested in an

issue, I find myself incapable of solving it. With purpose, perhaps my ambition and

leadership skills will take charge. Ultimately, I really enjoyed taking the quiz and learning

about myself in a somewhat abstract manner. The assessment test was extremely beneficial,

teaching me a lot about myself and the goals I should strive towards.