Page 25 - MidWeek - Feb 3, 2021

FEBRUARY 3, 2021 MIDWEEK 25
by Nicole Monton
Let’s Not Take Things So Personally
Book Pick Of The Week
I went a little outside my comfort zone with When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara
O’Neal. It leans heavily toward the romantic genre, of which I’m not the biggest fan, but
O’Neal’s writing moved the story along in a way that kept me turning the pages.
Set in New Zealand, the novel follows sisters Kit and Josie Bianci, who spend the entirety of
the book unraveling their childhood trauma as it impacts their current lives.
The fact that Josie was supposedly killed in a terrorist attack 15 years prior only adds to the
drama! If you like romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in, this is the book for you.
And I’d like to say congratulations to Hawai‘i State Public Library System, which loaned out 1 million digital books in 2020 through its OverDrive platform and affiliated Libby reading app.
“It is a testament to the desire of keiki, mākua and kūpuna to enjoy the simple pleasure of reading and becoming absorbed in our collective stories to feel connected, even as we have been physically distanced,” shares state librarian Stacey Aldrich.
Of all the e-book and audiobook downloads, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling took the No. 1 spot for most-downloaded title.
Learn more by visiting hawaii.overdrive.com or download the Libby app.
P eople sometimes ask mehowIcameto choose writing as a career path, and I have no good answer. It kind of just happened. In high school, I remember taking the My- ers-Briggs personality test, and the whole purpose was
Alice Inoue
to find a job suited to my personality to help me get a better idea of what to pursue in college. I was deemed an ENFJ all those years ago, but wanted to try the test again to see how I’ ve matured, or didn’t.
and you’ re scored on one of two ends of each spectrum based on your responses to the test questions: introver- sion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feel- ing, and judging or perceiv- ing. What results is a four-let- ter sequence, like my ENFJ index.
The cool thing about the 16Personalities test is that it breaks down each person’s four-letter classification re- garding everything from jobs you’ re most suited for to strengths/weaknesses to how you are in relationships.
For those unfamiliar, the Myers-Briggs Type In- dicator is a list of questions — an introspective assess- ment — and the answers one chooses reveal how they make decisions and navigate life’s choices. The official questionnaire is long and probes how you feel in cer- tain circumstances and which phrases most align with your values and convictions.
That was years ago, and I was curious how I’ve changed since then. So, we tried it. My coworkers and I recently went on a tempera- ment tour via 16personalities. com — it’s free! — which is an abridged version of the tra- ditional Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. And, wouldn’t you know it, I’m still an ENFJ.
My 16Personalities ENFJ synopsis remains very accu- rate. However, the one area that proved shocking was the potential career paths. ENFJs are most suited for careers in human resources, event coor- dination and politics — none of which are remotely appeal- ing to me.
The ‘U’ Looks WOut For You
hen something happens that you didn’t want, re-
mind yourself that it’s not random. It actually means that the Universe is looking out for you. Here are a few reasons why a challenge may have come your way:
1. It was so you could gain the experience you need for a future challenge.
2. It was because you need- ed to see a completely differ- ent perspective.
3. It was so you could move in a different direction or do something different.
No matter how hard your challenge is, nothing happens for no reason. The unwelcome event happened “for” you — not “to” you. Trust that your future self will benefit.
There are four categories,
Is there something you think I should try? Send suggestions to nmonton@midweek.com
@nicmonton
So, why writing? I honest- ly have no idea. All I know is that I love doing it.
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