Types of Intelligence that Define Me

Intrapersonal Intelligence

Intrapersonal Intelligence is defined as or shown by having an open-ended mind to all opinions; being easily able to communicate with others. Many people have different ways that they learn and how they use multiple intelligences to help them be the best that they can be. One of my most suitable intelligence is intrapersonal intelligence.

To begin with, people with this type of intelligence are mostly looking for a route and are trying to figure out their own feelings, motivations, and goals. They monitor themselves and seek understanding. People with intrapersonal intelligence are usually independent (learn more individually), but can still have the confidence to speak and share through reflecting on their own work. The people with intrapersonal intelligence enjoy writing journals and understand more things about themselves. They are also good at helping others comprehend their feelings that they might not understand, in other words helping them through difficult times. There are many characteristics that apply to the people of this specific intelligence. Some of the main characteristics of the people in this division are that they are usually more toward the “introverted” aspect. This means that they keep their thoughts, feelings and moods to themselves instead of considering to tell other people. They are also interested in self-employment and prefer to work independently. They choose to work independently because it helps them to focus more. Albert Einstein once said that “if you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or object”. This quote relates to me in a very strong way. This quote basically means to me that, in order to succeed in life you need to focus on your goals, not on other people or objects.

To add on, in life people will get you nowhere, the only person that will help you be successful is you and only you. People with this intelligence are very independent and like to be self-aware. As much as I enjoy the company of others, there’s nothing more I love then being alone and exploring things myself. Whenever I’m given a choice between working with a group or working alone, I would always prefer working alone because being alone helps me concentrate and get my work done faster. However, that doesn’t mean that I have difficulties sharing my opinions or letting others share their opinions with me. The intelligence that defines me most is the intrapersonal intelligence, it shows who I am as a person and what type of personality I have.

Kinaesthetic Intelligence

Kinaesthetic intelligence is defined as or shown by having the preference to learn through physical movement such as activities, through games rather than “sit-down sessions”. My second and most favourite intelligence is kinaesthetic intelligence. This intelligence is similar to visual intelligence but it still has differences in such ways. People with this intelligence learn the best through experimenting with things and moving around. They enjoy sports and activities that demand physical movement. There is another side to this intelligence, called the artistic side. People in this aspect enjoy dancing or any other kind of creative affairs. These artistic types of people have fun, acting and performing in front of an audience. Individuals with this intelligence like to use their hands to figure things out and are frequently well aware of their bodies. There are many characteristics that apply to people with this type of intelligence. People with this intelligence tend to enjoy sports more than anything else. In other words, they like to physically move and work around things. They also do the best work when they get an example hands-on. Hands-on is their best strength from all the other learning styles. I greatly love sports and dance, my two favourite things actually. I’m always active and looking forward to learning new things which include using my body or doing something physical. Drama is something that I enjoy a lot and my dad also definitely loved acting, so it runs in the family. I can do various types of drama genres also games. At my old school, I performed in front of the whole school since I was a part of a musical. I also danced a lot in front of the whole school because I was a part of a club called Glee. In the future when I will need to do a project or an assignment on a book or a movie, I will definitely watch the movie because I understand more when it is acted out. I extremely love this intelligence and I can definitely see where it came from and how I have it.

Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence

Musical intelligence is defined as or shown by having the extended knowledge of melodies, rhythms and pitches which others’ don’t really hear. Creative knowledge and strategies are formed as they are good composers, listeners and etc. My last, but not least intelligence is the rhythmic/musical intelligence. People with this intelligence are able to hear and recognize patterns very easily. They’re also sensitive to rhythm and sound, for example, they can differentiate between the sound of a flute and the sound of a clarinet. People with this musical intelligence remember things easily when turned into sounds or rhymes. There are many characteristics that apply to people with musical intelligence. Some of them being is that some people can memorize songs easily, can recognize singing off key, and also are gifted at composing/playing instruments.

People with this intelligence are most likely to be good singers or dancers in the future. They tend to whistle or tap their foot when they hear any type of sound, and I know that because I personally do that. I can learn easily with songs if we’re supposed to learn something and there are songs for it (strategies and analogies previous teachers used), that is the best thing for me personally. For example, when we had to learn the verbs for French, I found out they were songs. The verbs we had to learn were the ER, IR, and RE verbs, then the French teacher told us that there were songs that could help us memorize the verbs. For example for the verb ER, the song was old MacDonald had a farm, for the IR verb, it was a rhyme and for RE verb it was the “make a circle” song. Therefore, I listened to them and got a very good mark. Since that day I was sure that this intelligence was in my top 3 intelligence; “If a composer could say what he had to in words he would not bother trying to say it in words” – Gustav Mahler. This quote has very different meanings, it depends on the person reading it. The way I read this is that when you can’t express something in words, music comes to the rescue. Music is something that helps me through everything. Also, music helps me focus more when I’m doing my work. At home I always listen to music because it helps me concentrate. I can also recognize if people are singing off key and it’s honestly one of my biggest pet peeves, similar to OCD.

In conclusion, Musical Intelligence defines me the least out of Interpersonal and Kinaesthetic Intelligence, however, it is still a huge aspect and does impact the way I learn and the way I teach others as well.

Works Cited

1. Armstrong, T. (1993). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
2. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books.
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4. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
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