An individual with features or a person with personality

I met Tatyana in a communal apartment. Tatyana was lively, active and with pronounced features. These features did not give rest to her neighbors, and they tried in every possible way to eradicate them. For several years now, they have been unsuccessfully struggling with the fact that Tatyana did not fit into the concept of the “hostel norm” in any way, they told her in a kind and not very good way that if she likes to burn pans, then it is better to do it with her household items. They held conversations on the topics that before entering someone else’s room it would be good to knock, and when squeezing the drain from the washing machine, it is better to hold it with your hand in the sink, and not forget it on the floor. Another feature of her was the habit of lying. She lied a lot with pleasure and absolutely no reason.

Tatyana was very different from other people, but taking into account the fact that her features, although they were not completely destructive, could not be called positive either, she did not fall under the category of individuality.

Tatyana was adamant in her habit of living in a special way, and although she realized that she was not like everyone else, nothing could be done about it, according to her statements.

But then, when I met her, I didn’t know anything about her, then she seemed to me a positive and energetic girl. At first, her love of life and energy conquered me in the best sense of the word, but after a couple of weeks, I, like all the neighbors, pretended that I was not at home, hearing her steps, and “yelped” at her when she violated with a radiant smile all the norms of the hostel.

But all this would have been funny if I hadn’t got her a job, three days after we met. I must say that up to this point, apart from the peculiarities and careless, but easy character in Tatiana, I didn’t particularly notice anything. Specifically, I am now talking about personal characteristics, Tatiana had 9 classes of education, and she worked as a salesperson. I don’t mean that all salespeople with 9 classes a priori cannot be individuals, I’m more about the fact that it was Tatyana who thought that she was not particularly lucky in her life, but how it happened, it happened, so you have to live as it is. That is, the author’s position (core), which is a sign of personality, was not in sight.

It turns out that Tatyana at the time of meeting her was an individual with features, and not a person with individuality

Sitting in a smoky communal kitchen, I convinced her that each person builds his own life, that if you want, you can achieve everything even at first glance impossible. Then I managed to convince her only that nothing bad would happen if she even just tried to work as an advertising sales manager. Just in case, she did not quit, but took a vacation in her shop. And then the day came when I brought her to our holding! At first, only some features were “pearled” from Tatyana, at work she was considered a black sheep, they laughed at her and tried to bypass, but then … it was thanks to them (these features) that she managed to sell the most complex projects to the most hopeless clients. Very quickly, Tatiana became the best manager, and here I began to notice personality traits in her. Tatyana became confident not only in her abilities, but also in the fact that she builds her life herself, and her easy careless character, and even more so, her features have not gone away. Tatyana, as before, fantasized (lied) a lot with pleasure and more often for no reason and did all the other things that were strange for a normal person, but at the same time she now became a personality, and her features turned into individuality (after all, now they were useful). Moreover, she herself began to perceive her own characteristics from the standpoint of her choice: “I chose to be like this, because I can do anything.” Now she has become, even proud of the fact that she is not like all these bores who live such a boring right life.

That is, now the same Tatyana has become a personality, and her features, having remained the same, but having begun to be useful and presented on behalf of the author, have turned into an individuality

4 years have passed, today Tatyana is the owner of her own advertising agency. They talk a lot about her in the city, someone claims that she is a scammer and deceives customers (and I, knowing her, in principle can believe it), someone, on the contrary, stands up for her, saying that she is a high professional (and I believe in that too.) But most of all I am sure that Tatyana is a person. And I’m also sure that if there weren’t any features in her, she wouldn’t become a person very much, but, most likely, she wouldn’t shine at all.

Analyzing a few more stories from life, I still tend to conclude that it is impossible to become a person (one who lives with his own mind, is responsible for his actions, a brave and strong person) from scratch, there must be some kind of innate features — or strength character.