The psychological test

            We all there knew each other since time enough to have shared roofs, trips and learnings, so when Manuel spoke to us about a psychological test that was too a game with which to know more about oneself and about others, we laughed because we were good friends and a certain interest boosted us to play the game in a good mood.

            Manuel went to his bureau and took paper and pen for everyone. The game consists of going doing what I will be telling you to do. Well, first of all you must write down the name of an animal, the first coming to your mind, and below write down three adjectives the animal suggests you, qualities, impressions, reasons by which you have chosen that animal.

            When you had written the name of the animal and the three words, you have to write down the name of a second animal, the first coming to your mind, and below write down three adjectives the animal suggests you, qualities, impressions, reasons by which you have chosen that animal.

            When you have finished with this, you have to write down the name of a third animal. Don’t worry, it’s the last name. The first coming to your mind, and below write down three adjectives the animal suggests you, qualities, impressions, reasons by which you have chosen that animal.

            Well, now we have the second part still. You have to write down the word Wall, and below to write down three adjectives a wall suggests you, sensations, impressions, things you would do if you were walking ahead and a wall prevented you.

            Now you have to write down the word Sea, and below three adjectives the sea suggests you, sensations, impressions, visions.

            To finish this second part you have to write down the word Coffee, and below to write down three adjectives coffee suggests you, sensations, impressions, flavour, taste and odour.

            Well, we have finished to write down, but you have to make a drawing consisting of 10 geometrical figures, being possible to choose between circles, triangles, squares and rectangles. A total of 10 figures composing a drawing or a shape.

            OK then. Once you have finished I am going to reveal that the first animal you have chosen is the one most similar by its aptitudes and qualities to whom you think the others see yourselves. The second animal chosen is as a matter of fact the one most similar by its aptitudes and qualities to whom yourselves see yourselves. And the third animal chosen is the most similar to whom you really are.

            And this can be interpreted like this: If, for instance, someone chooses dog, cat and bird, it means he or she thinks the others see them like a dog, a domesticated animal, best friend of humankind, with their aptitudes and qualities. This someone sees himself or herself like a cat, domesticated animal too, a feline, with their aptitudes and qualities. But in fact is a bird, more independent and as a general rule free and very gay because he can fly.

            The Wall represents an obstacle, a difficulty in life. Things you would do facing a wall preventing you from walking ahead are your attitudes when facing an obstacle, a difficulty in life.

            The Sea represents death, and the three things the sea’s sight inspires you is often of big joy for the very positive people and kind of melancholical for the not so much, but of inmensity and respect always.

            The Coffee represents sex, is something exotic, widely extended the habitude of having coffee at breakfast, an appetizing hot liquid after dessert. Whatever you have written down for the word Coffee, know you have done it thinking about sex, and you have associated coffee, and therefore sex, with laughter.

            The drawing or shape you have had composed using 10 geometrical figures says more yet about your personality and it is sufficient for an expert psychologist, after a deep and brief analysis, to see confirmed the idea the psychologist had from all he or she knew already, and to see your attitude in facing life with everything that supposes the ten geometrical figures, being the circle wisdom, goodness, the triangle intelligence, the square volition and the rectangle generosity, courage.

            We had already handed Manuel our sheets with the words and drawing of the game and Manuel started to interpret the meaning of words and design of each of us. I remember he was kind of jocose with everyone, and although as we all knew we were a group of good people, we delighted ourselves with Manuel’s intentional comments about each one.

            Over there I’ve got, under the stairs at home probably, the sheets where I wrote down cougar, lynx and cat. Manuel said in interpreting the animals part that the three were feline, so therefore there was not much difference between how I thought the others saw me, a cougar, that is, quick, alive and awake, how I saw myself, a lynx, that is, as a matter of fact as if I founded myself in a situation of taking by force the presidency of the Republic as armed president of the Partido Comunista de España (m-l), and how I truly was, a cat, light, elastic and flexible, capable of getting the almost unusual any moment, assured Manuel to my girl and boy friends.

            Regarding the wall, I don’t know if I’m wrong (I may be certain if I proposed it), but I think I decided ascending it, jump it over or take it down. The sea inspired me peace, inmensity and eternity. Coffee awoke me, I liked it as a ceremony and I chose five o’clock in the evening.

            With respect to the drawing of 10 geometrical figures, I chose the lines that composes the drawing Ancient of the days by William Blake, on which Urizen can be seen throwing wisdom rays from a sun. At least it wasn’t a bad idea to compose a figure based on a big circle, Urizen’s body made of triangles and rectangles, two small triangles for his face and for his hair and beard, two very small squares for eyes, the rays coming out of Urizen’s fingers I turned them into so long lines that moved Manuel to ask me if I wanted to make it so, ending the rays at the sheet’s low corners to shape another isosceles triangle over the sheet’s border, knowing that the figure made the 11, that if it was so he told me it was not a drawing of 10. It was not a bad idea, not at all. That they would be 11 and another isosceles, that in fact they were 10 plus two lines that were useful to get information about the personality one is studying.

            So as not to hurt feelings due to names of animals and characters of these animals applied to any of us, Manuel explained that almost all animals had a amiable aura for almost all human beings, and that not always can be interpreted the sequence of animals and the different personalities in the same order, how I think they see me, how I see myself and how I really am, although the method doesn’t fail most of times.