Happy June from Enneagram Life!
Animal subtypes, a podcast conversation with Elisabeth & Peter + favorite grades in school 🍓
Happy June from Enneagram Life!
🍓 We just wrapped up our newest series, “Subtypes as Animals.” If you’ve struggled to understand subtypes or figure out where you might land, perhaps this take on subtypes with animals might offer some helpful, while also entertaining insight into yourself. You can find the whole series on Instagram or Facebook.
🍓Elisabeth & Peter were recently interviewed by Misty Escobar on the Discover Freedom with the Enneagram podcast. One of the most common questions about the Enneagram is, "Which Type combinations are most compatible in a relationship?" There is no simple answer to that question. If both people are investing in their own personal growth, any combination of the Enneagram can work. In this interview, you’ll hear specifics about Elisabeth & Peter’s pairing (type 4 & 1), including their differences and similarities, some of their experiences that helped them grow and their relationship tips. You can listen to their interview here.
🍓 This month, we asked the hosts of our sister pages about their favorite grade in school, in honor of the school year ending for so many. Please enjoy this glimpse into what school was like for our page hosts.
▪ From Recah, our 1ishandiknowit host: Being homeschooled all the way through, I did not have a favorite grade. Truthfully, the grades are running together. I loved my senior year of high school because I had the most freedom and responsibility, but it was probably also my hardest emotionally. I have two favorite memories, one was probably late middle school or early high school when I finally found a math curriculum that clicked for me! And the other was in 9th grade using the Bible for history and literature and studying the Old Testament in depth.
▪ From Rachel, our 2ishandiknowit host: I had so many vastly different school experiences I don’t even know how to choose. 3rd Grade was awesome for me, I was home schooled and my mom and I got along. We went on cool field trips and my little brother was born in January so I got to spend so much time with the baby. 9th grade was pretty rad because I left the middle school drama behind, had solid friends, was a cheerleader, was in band and choir, and after school drama club. I took French and just walked around school like I owned the place. This mirrored my senior year of high school. We moved when I went into 10th grade and by 12th I’d finally figured out where I fit; it was just being me and not caring what others thought. I cheered and did marching band. I was a church kid and theater kid. I sang the National anthem at sporting events and was liked by my teachers. I did what I wanted and was who I was, I didn’t have a big group of friends, but everyone knew who I was, I stood for, and that they could count on me.
▪ From Angelene, our 3ishandiknowit host: This was a hard one for me. I was a good student but found navigating social stuff at school very challenging ( even in grade school) due to my family life. That being said, my third grade teacher, Miss Babcock, is my best memory. She was young, elegant and approachable. She used a chalk holder to write on the chalkboard because she had long manicured nails. She would choose different students to write on the chalkboard and it was super fun to use that chalk holder. I was having odd chest pains that the doctors couldn’t figure out- they called them “growing pains”-I now know it was anxiety. Miss Babcock would let me sit in the quiet book area of the room when I needed it. She was a compassionate teacher with high standards and grace.
▪ From Cassandra, our 4ishandiknowit host: When I think back on school, I have so many painful memories with insincere “friends” and a general feeling of boredom and frustration that color my time. I hopped around from clique to clique because I couldn’t imagine forcing myself to fit into one. So it was nice to finally find a genuinely deep friendship in 8th grade. I also remember really enjoying my unorthodox 5th grade teacher who had a life-size wax figure of Edgar Allen Poe and encouraged learning in unique ways. Another year that was similarly rich was my senior year, I removed myself from the social drama and really let myself enjoy being challenged by some brilliant teachers. I got the worst grades of my life that year but was finally challenged in a way I had always craved.
▪ From Kellyn, our 5ishandiknowit host: I remember as a homeschooler never knowing how to answer when people asked what grade I was in. My kids have the same struggle in that way, but thankfully not in others.
Childhood for me was messy. Growing up in a lot of trauma, with a single mom who so desperately felt she needed to homeschool, while still living in terror of the possibility of getting her kids taken away by her ex, we did a lot of hiding from the world; me self-educating & teaching my siblings & keeping house while she worked multiple jobs.
My first year of college was a significant turning point for me. I was on my own. My GED tests were the first real tests I’d ever taken and, with an extreme pit of fear in my stomach, I nearly aced them all. My professor recommended me as a tutor for other college students, in my first semester. And I generally got to see for the first time how intelligent I truly was and knew I could survive in the world.
I have had the privilege (that I know not everyone has) of choosing to homeschool my own children now, and we’ve been at it for 12 years. It is exciting, gives us freedom & flexibility & is life-giving for us all. I am grateful to be learning how to heal & no longer allow my fears & early experiences to be a significant part of what dictates my current choices.
▪ From Angee, our 6ishandiknowit: For me, it was 6th grade. My last year in elementary because back in the wee old days, elementary went to 6th grade and junior high school was 7-9th. I had a teacher who really drew me out and saw me and she encouraged me. She always believed I would be a writer and years as an adult I ran in to her at the store. At the time I was a report for a small local news paper, yet another thing that dates me LOL! Now that I think back, it is funny how I loved 6th grade and I’m an enneagram 6. Coincidence? I think not!
▪ From Nikola, our 7ishandiknowit host: My junior year of high school sticks out to me the most. It was my first time going to school after being homeschooled previously. I loved going to school as an extrovert. I made friends quickly and really soaked up all the experiences! I could drive so I loved the freedom & opportunities driving brought me! I went to prom and overall just lived my best life as a social butterfly with few responsibilities- a type Seven’s heaven! Only college would top that!
▪ From Danielle, our 8ishandiknowit host: I honestly don’t have any grade that sticks out 🤔 Maybe because I homeschooled all the way through?? Or maybe it’s my time orientation of future? Haha. I loved school being over and being an adult (this likely has something to do with control) 😜🤣
▪ From Alison, our 9ishandiknowit host: I loved 5th grade. I loved my teacher, and cliques hadn’t started too much yet. I got to embrace my arrow to 3 with performing in school plays and had my first overnight camping trip. My best friend was in my class and I felt like my imagination had so much space to dream and do something about it. I loved the freedom of being 10 without too many responsibilities yet. And I remember reading a lot of books I really loved, like the Chronicles of Narnia.
Take care,
Alison
Creative Assistant for Enneagram Life