The Four

In almost any group of friends, you may find four distinct, repeating personalities. This is reflected in such succesful television shows as The Golden Girls, Sex and the City, Family Guy, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The labels I have chosen may have two names, but generally, either title could apply to the particular character.

1. The Cynic / The Teacher:

For some reason, these two tend to go together. The cynic always brings reality to the table when things aren't looking very positive. With a tendency to see the negative, the cynic is a perfect balance for the optimist. The teacher, on the other hand, uses logic to accomplish the same thing. The teacher likes to play Devil's advocate.

2. The Naive One / The Optimist:

Pretty self-explanatory. The naive one is often the last to understand double entendres and is relatively straight laced. It is common for the naive one to also be irrationally optimistic. It is very difficult to discourage the optimist, which is good, because the cynic would be very good at it.

3. The Sexual One / The Loner:

This is the person you continuously see with a new love interest but is generally alone. Though this person may have a boyfriend/girlfriend, it is very likely that nothing serious ever really comes of it. This also could be the person who just prefers to be alone rather than be constantly with people.

4. The Feisty One / The Creative One:

With an attitude and an imagination, this person generally is the leader of the group. When you need something to do, this is the person you look to, but that is only if the person has a good balance of creativity and feistiness. If there is more creativity in a person, you might get more of a laid back friend. On the other hand, if a person is more feisty, there will never be a dull moment.

I chose four different examples of how this comes into play. The character examples will be listed in this order:
1. Golden Girls (Rose, Blanche, Sophia, and Dorothy)
2. Sex and the City (Miranda, Carrie, Samantha, and Charlotte)
3. Family Guy (Peter, Joe, Quagmire, and Cleaveland)
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo)

The Cynic / The Teacher:
1. Dorothy Zbornak
2. Miranda Hobbes
3. Joe Swanson
4. Leonardo

The Naive One / The Optimist:
1. Rose Nylund
2. Charlotte York
3. Cleaveland Brown
4. Michaelangelo

The Sexual One / The Loner:
1. Blanche Devereaux
2. Samantha Jones
3. Glenn Quagmire
4. Raphael

The Feisty One / The Creative One:
1. Sophia Petrillo
2. Carrie Bradshaw
3. Peter Griffin
4. Donatello

In my own life, my friends and I always laugh about which one of these we are. When comparing to the Golden Girls, no one ever wants to be labeled as Dorothy. Its not something you volunteer for, and so, without question, the unanimous vote names me the cynic. Just don't start calling me Bea Arthur.