Back in the United States.

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I've been back now for a little over a week and I'm still trying to reacclimatize myself to being here. Aside from the obvious things that require time to get used to, like the nine and a half hour time zone difference, there have been other things that have required me to consciously reconsider. Being in one situation for a long amount of time always requires some adjustments when going into a new situation. This is because no two situations are exactly alike. So whether you are returning home after a long trip abroad or spending time with your family after a tiring day of work, different situations in life will always require a shift in personality. 

 Now you're probably wondering what do I mean by shifting your personality. Let me explain: being in India required me to act and even speak a certain way. I quickly realized that the way I typically communicate with people in the United States was not going to work in India. For example, I tend to speak quickly by not pronouncing hard letter sounds like converting "want to" (the t being the hard sound, requiring a brief pause between want and to) to "wan' to". However, in India, when I tried to speak quickly people would have a difficult time understanding me. Therefore, I had to speak slower and enunciate all letter sounds.

 It took about two weeks before I could easily communicate with anyone there, and I was only able to do so once I changed my normal way of speaking. But now that I'm back I no longer have to speak the way that I had been while in India, so I have shifted back to using my normal communicative habits. 

 Now let's look at a more general scenario which would require you to shift personalities. Think about how you communicate at school or work. Is your professional persona the one you use while spending time with your family or hanging out with friends? Most likely not. In fact, I bet for some of you, the language you use while at school may be different from the one you use at home. You may not even be aware of it but most of you probably are already experts at shifting between personalities.

 I would say that most people have three distinct personalities and a few more within each of those. These are:

 1. Personal Personality
    A. Private (the way you act around significant others and immediate family members)
    B. Casual (the way you act around friends and acquaintances)
    C. Semi-Casual (the way you act around strangers)
2. Professional Personality 
    A.  Business Oriented (the way you act around business associates and clients)
    B. Business Casual (the way you act around your friends in a business setting)
3. Adaptable Personality (typically used when entering a new situation in which neither the personal nor professional personality will work. The adaptable personality is all about keeping an open-mind to your surroundings. For example, this is the personality I had to use while in India)

 It is not necessarily important to consciously consider every personality you tend to use although it may be beneficial to do so. What is important is that you understand why having different personalities is beneficial, and in some cases, compulsory. Consider what would happen if you used the same form of writing you use while at work to send a text to your friend? It would seem off. At work, you always want to speak and write in a formal way, whereas when talking to a friend you probably want to appear more casual and thus won't be as formal. 

 In most cases, shifting your personality allows you to fit into different situations without question but is not absolutely required, however, in some cases, it is necessary to do so. For example, when I was in India my two choices were: change my normal way of talking so that I could communicate with people there or continue using my natural dialect and not be able to talk with people. Obviously, this wasn't much of a choice for me-- I wanted to talk with my friend's family, so in order to do so I had to shift my personality. 

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 Having the ability to shift between different personas is a crucial skill to have. While not compulsory in every situation, having multiple personalities can be greatly beneficial. These shifts can include changes in the way you act, the way you speak, and the way you write. Keep in mind that while making sure your persona appropriately fits a situation, you don't want to lose sight of who you are. For example, if you're someone who doesn't tend to use big vocabulary words, you probably shouldn't force yourself to in any situation.

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 It definitely has been a long, tiring week, but even so, I'm glad to be back. I hope you enjoyed and learned something from my reflection. If you have any questions or comments, email us at levelupproficiency@gmail.com or send us a message on our Facebook page.

 -Ryan M Shea, English Proficiency Specialist
    





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