am always taking in information; am confident enough to experiment; make a high number of financial transactions (sad for my savings, but very true--I am a shopper at heart); am "skeptical" about advertising and is a self-directed consumer (two different qualities but very much related); have international exposure (my dad is from Ghana); am future oriented; am receptive to new ideas and technology; enjoy the challenge of problem solving; have a wide variety of interests and activities.

I believe these qualities describe my tendencies fairly accurately. Because I am a rather shy but social person I prefer to observe and listen to people as a means of learning and connecting. My shy tendencies have also led me to being a very analytical and strategical i.e. a thinker--I love problem solving and using new and/or different idea to fix issues that our prevalent in our world. And speaking of the world, I have had a lot of cultural diversity influencing my upbringing; my dad is from Ghana, I have several Hispanic aunts and uncles who I grew up with, and currently I work at Webster's Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs. I am not one to follow social trends just because everyone else is doing something; I will only by something if I personally want it and after I have done my research on that object regardless of what the advertisers have "promised" (usually applies more to big purchases). However despite my "hesitancy," my desire to get what I want has led to several occasions of unwarranted impulse shopping (but I justify it to myself because it almost always books and you can NEVER have to many books).

According to my Values and Life Style (VALS) results I am most like the Innovators consumer group—and as my primary VALS type, represents my dominant approach to life—followed by my secondary type Experiencers—which emphasizes how I approach being an Innovator (my dominant).