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Lilyana Sanchez

Cunningham

American Literature(1)

9 January 2019

My Heroic Journey: Magical Weapons

Growing up in a Mexican household my parents raised me to always be kind, honest and

they always pushed me to work hard for everything I wanted in life. It is something that their

parents taught them and it is something that my parents also taught me. They pressed on this idea

so that whenever I faced challenges in life I could push through them and not have to rely on

anyone else to make me a better or more successful human. The challenges that I faced growing

up inevitably shedded light on my strengths. However I don't look at challenges as failures in a

way they have made my strengths. After taking the Enneagram test which asks questions to

determine your personality types, I found that the test said my top 3 strengths were being loyal,

being a harmonizer, and helping others.

The type 6 otherwise known as the loyalist is very much me. Type 6’s are usually

conflicted by trust and distrust. That is very true for me, I usually feel very anxious when trying

to get to know people. I get the idea that not everyone can be trusted and so strangers are no

better to me than dangerous people. I realized this from both personal experience, and from my

parents. The first time I remember them mentioning how important it was to get to know people

before trusting them I recall asking them “why?”. Like every other kid however I didn’t listen

but my personal experiences were enough to teach me how to trust people.

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My second strength that the Enneagram test showed happened to be one that I always

utilize and think about on a day to day basis. That strength is that of a peacemaker, otherwise

known as a type 9. This is one that I relate to the most by far. Peacemakers keep peace and

harmony, they are open-minded, and they have a hard time taking action. Much like myself type

9’s are also introverts. I go through life trying to understand everyone whether they are right or

wrong, I put myself in everyone's shoes and try to stay in the grey area of life. I'm always trying

to stay on everyone's good side by either not voicing my opinion, or by simply nodding and

agreeing even if I don’t. It's quite simple I like to surround myself with harmony and peace.

The third magical weapon or strength that showed up from my Enneagram test was type

2 also known as the helper. I definitely think that this is one of the greatest values that I carry. I

like to think that everyone who I surround myself with can come to me for anything they need

whether it is emotional support, advice, or anything else that is within my capacity to do.

Helping others makes me feel like I’m doing something good and beneficial in the world. I find

happiness in doing this, that is why my selflessness can get carried away at times. I have learned

more recently however how to balance my selflessness for myself and for others.

After doing the Enneagram yes I realized how accurate it is at pointing out people’s

strengths. Mine in particular were pretty spot on. It’s interesting to reflect on my strengths or

magical weapons, even though I use them on a daily basis I don’t think about them. What I

learned about myself from the enneagram test was how selfless I can be, I also realized how I

could improve on my weaknesses like voicing my opinion, or not being afraid to disagree with

others opinions and thoughts.

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