The Character Canvas

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
- Japanese Proverb


The Single Aesthetic is firmly founded upon self-awareness and knowing that the company you keep directly reflects your own character. I value my friends and wouldn’t trade them for the world. I’ve learned that each friend contributes something valuable, though different, to my life. One might say they contribute varying strokes or colors to my life’s character canvas. They help paint a picture of who I am, and the person I strive to be.

I have one friend who’s outspoken, ambitious and a riot to be around. Let’s call her “Dionne” for anonymity’s sake. She is, by far, one of the funniest human beings on earth. I’m pretty sure that the “censorship” button God gave to the rest of us was omitted when He created her. She says whatever is on her mind, and does whatever her heart dreams up. The beautiful thing about this BFF is that she stays down for the cause. She’s an excellent listener, gives amazing advice, stays patient with me when I manage to tell the same sob story over and over again, and most importantly, never judges me. She’s also free-spirited, fun-loving, and a shop-a-holic. Some have called her “selfish” and a bit “childish”, but whatever dude. Nobody is perfect – and that’s my girl.

I would say she’s a pretty accurate reflection of me, too. We joined the same organizations in college; we work hard, and party hard. Well, sometimes we party a little harder than we work… but we work damn hard, so you can only imagine what we’re like at the club. She’s not a pushover, and neither am I. She knows what she wants, and she’s headstrong about getting there. What I really admire about her, and I was telling my mother about this the other day, is that she’s a HUSTLER. She hustles everything from designer sunglasses to academic diplomas. This woman received two degrees from our alma mater in 2006. TWO. She’s getting two more as we speak. TWO MORE. That’s four degrees in eight years. Count them with me: 2 + 2 = 4. WTF? Who does that?! And, I call her a hustler because she knows exactly what to do, what to say, and who to talk to in order to get things done. This girl is not slaving away at a desk or computer to earn these degrees. And, to be perfectly clear (because I don’t want to undermine her intelligence), it’s not because she’s not smart. She has learned the art of education, and is using it to her advantage. School isn’t always about the education… it’s sometimes about life lessons. Learning how and when to cut corners; it’s not always “what you know” but “who you know”; sometimes a kind word here and there will take you a lot farther than busting your ass on a term paper, etc. I mean, she could write a book. And she has… but it’s a book of inspirational Haiku. More on that later.

While a person can look at our friends, and learn about us, the same can be said about our taste. The way we dress ourselves, decorate our homes and office space, listen to music, consume food, and spend our spare time reflects who we are. There’s an interesting website that tests this theory. Surprisingly, my results were dead on. The site uses our sense of visual aesthetics to illustrate our character canvas, so to speak. So really, who we are is never actually a secret. I consider myself a private person, but there are some discernible truths about me and my personality that are evidently clear to everyone. Through my friends, my wardrobe, my iPod, and my checkbook, it’s possible that you could never meet me in person, and yet know me pretty well. (I hope you wouldn’t laugh when you saw my checkbook, by the way. It manages to teeter around $0 every two weeks, just before payday. It is what it is.)

Try the site out, though. Fifteen images will appear, with a question or prompt. Choose the image that best reflects your attitude towards the question. The site guides you through eight or ten questions, and then reveals insights about your personality based on the images you chose. Go ahead… You might even learn something new about yourself. It’s the Single Aesthetic at work… Who’d’ve thunk it?!

Http://DNA.imagini.net/friends