No.. No, we're not just discussing the Big Five - though I will touch those. But we (and by we, I of course mean - me) are covering traits people have. So today I was considering what traits I find admirable in other people. Sex, Age, Race all aside - What is it that I look for in others when evaluating my respect and desire to maintain a friendship (or more) with that person? I'm really not entirely sure but as I've learned before. One of the best ways for me to figure out how I feel is to just start writing about it and see how it reads. I think that's a bad way to phrase it. Makes me sound like I would read it back and perhaps dislike the sound of it and change it. No, not quite. But just now I can't think of another way to represent my thoughts with words and of course by that I don't think or even pretend to think that my emotions and thoughts are so beyond English that they simply can't be stated with words. The fact is that I'm just too dumb to know how to write.

You can read about these at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits, I also found a site that gives you a test to see how you score in these areas. My score is here http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/results/?o=80.00&c=10.00&e=83.00&a=14.00&n=9.00&o-raw=4.40&c-raw=2.44&e-raw=4.12&a-raw=2.89&n-raw=2.00 and you can try this out to test yourself here http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

I very 'strongly' fit into this description. I also almost demand at a minimum at least some level of this in all my friends. Those who are especially strong in this trait garner tremendous respect from me and will probably be the people I will want to spend most of my time with.

While this is a very admeriable trait and I do expect of my friends to maintaine enough of this to be able to make it to work on time, get their work done, answer phone calls and/or return them. Follow through with what they say they will do (Oh that's a big one). But those exhibiting very strong amounts of this trait.. hmmn, not so much. It bugs me a little, it's a bit too controlled for my lifestyle and thought process. It's a little too clean for my messyness. It's just not a good fit. But a very admeriable trait.

While this is another trait that I exhibit 'very strongly' it's not one I appreciate so much in others when they share it as strongly as I do. While I truely enjoy the company of people who have a mild to medium amount of this trait. Those who hold this as strongly as I do kinda wear me out as I am sure I do others. I appreciate the company of people a bit calmer then me in large part because it helps calm me down. So I really appreciate in a thankful and loving fashion those people that can calm me down and let my mind rest.

This isn't really me. Not even like.. a tiny bit me. Or a itsy-bitsy-bit me. It's almost totally opposite of me. I'm highly suspicious, antagonistic, cynical, and generally uncaring of most things. While I have my moments where I can be extremely compassionate and seemingly caring of other people deep down inside me there's some wall or something that pretty much prevents it from being a reality. And! On the other side of this I don't really appreciate people who overly exhibit this trait. I like people to be compassionate and cooperative to a very small degree. But what I really respect are people who will speak their mind, stand up for what they think is right. If that happens to collide with your thoughts, that's fine. It's what makes us - us. I don't wanna be a duck and I don't want ducks for friends. 'Now, keep in mind' this view is mostly with regard to friends. When I become emotionally involved with someone I am much more caring and expect that from them as well. I still expect them to stand up for their beliefs and speak their mind though.

Uh, yeah. No. Isn't me and it's unacceptable in any of my friends - At all.

I've meet a large number of people that seem content just living their life in a rut. I just don't understand that and I don't respect it - not for one brief second. On the flip side I have a lot of respect for those who actively work torward growing themselves and furthering their life. I'm not just talking about a good job. But the whole picture.

I love dancing in the rain, watching the sunrise and set, laying out under the stars, camping out in my tent, embracing and enjoying nature and all of it's aspect. It's not my whole life, I like other things too. But I just really enjoy doing this. I like going on road trips and just camping outside along the way. It's nice to have someone to do these things with sometimes and so I like having friends who share this passion.

I'm really interested in different types of culture and life styles. I like little bits of almost every culture I've come into contact with. It adds a lot of 'depth' to your personality and keeps things fresh and interesting through out years of your life. I of course have a high appreciation of anyone that shares this desire and it's a big bonus in a relationship when someone is willing to go try out new stuff with me. Highly cultured people also seem to have a perspective on life that others do not. I'm not sure how to explain it or that I feel like writing that much. But I know I like that perspective and respect those who hold it.

I don't want to have a flake as a friend (or especially more then a friend). I want.. I expect my friends to be responsible with their lives. Their work ethics and social commitments. If they tell me they are going to do something - I fully expect that they will do it and am at a minimum aggravated if they do not. If they are suppose to be somewhere at a specific time, I expect they'll be there. And while we're on the subject. Don't tell someone you'll pay them back for something, return a favor, or do them a favor if you either are unable to or are not actually going to. I know it's become socially acceptable to casually do this for many minor things but it puts you in a position where your end up not upholding your word - which builds distrust. Is it really too hard to just say “Thank you”, or “I'll try to … but I'm sure if I can”?? I'm not hardcore about this. I understand life happens. But as a general rule I want friends that I can trust and rely on. 'This also helps (a lot) in building trust.'

This is a tough subject and it's rather harsh of me I suppose. I don't know how to say this without sounding egotistical but I've often be told by many of my peers that I'm extremely intelligent and have strong comprehension skills. This is accurately reflected by my collage grades. So I often find myself expecting the same ability of my friends or whoever I'm talking too. I expect them to pick up on subtle statements and/or understand what I'm talking about. Really it's sorta a fault that I have. While I really do understand that people have varying levels intelligence and it's partly something your born with. But I still often find myself frustrated by other peoples lack… I don't expect anyone to die and be reborn with some above average intellect but I do expect my friends to try and actively educate themselves throughout their life. Every day I learn new things. I actively study about new subjects and things introduced to me that I am unfamiliar with. I want my friends to do that too. I want to be around smart and educated people. In a way I feel bad saying this but really I don't think it's wrong of me to feel this way either.

While everything above would still apply to this section. Here are some things I would look for in someone when considering them for a long-term committed relationship.

Any long lasting relationship is partly build on compromise. Anytime two people get together there will be differences in opinion and the best way to resolve that is to compromise with each other. So a girl who is able to work out problems and differences with me in a sensible fashion gets a lot of my respect.

Oh, boy - Here come the women rights right-winged liberals! So sue me. The traditional wife roles appeal to me and to match that so do the traditional husband roles. So I want a girl who can cook, clean, do laundry. While I'm willing to fix the car, go to work, mow the lawn, and all those things. I don't mind sharing these tasks but I want a girl capable of them.

Looking forward :) I want a girl who's going to be healthy. This covers physical and mental health across all borders too. It's kinda an animalistic attribute of all creatures really. Females seek strong healthy males and males seek fertile & healthy females. I don't wanna watch my wife die at some early age. I don't want children with strange medical problems. I don't want a girl who's always sick. So I pay attention to how a girl takes care of herself. Does she smoke or drink excessively? Eat poorly? Exercise? Is she attentive to any special needs her body has? All of that. It really says a bit about the person too, someone who appreciates life is likely to take steps to insure they can enjoy it for a long time to come.

Yea, this is the far-end long-term consideration, right? But it's there. I want a girl that exhibits traits and qualities that demonstrate she would make a good mother. It's really a big thing actually - I want to have kids and I want them raised very well. This topic is really a driving force for many (if not all) the previous topics. There's another thing though that this includes. Compassionate understanding and patience.