I mean, in all of those circumstances I just hold my breath. I’m certainly not wanting to breath in a bad smell through my mouth.

But if the question is can I elect to breath through my mouth without pinching my nose, the answer is yes. I wouldn’t describe it as “shutting my nose,” though, so maybe we’re not talking about the same thing.

I start next Monday, what now?

I’m hired, what now?

Never felt any impetus to drink, and I have a personal aversion to recreational drugs.

Without thinking too hard about it, I probably get the most joy from learning stuff, especially when it’s within a topic of interest and has any level of application to my interests or skills. Bonus points when I make the connection myself.

I see other comments mentioning ADHD, so I’ll add that I have a diagnosis for it as well.

Good question, though. It’s been a while since I asked myself this, and I’m overdue for a reassessment. Thanks.

I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with being proud of impersonal achievements. If one of your parents did something considered pretty great, I think it’s generally fine to be proud of it, even though you had no agency in being born to them.

As with anything, though, it’s very possible to take it to the extreme. If an achievement or value becomes your entire personality and you begin to actively disparage others on the basis of not-being-that, as you said, that’s when I call it one of the bad “-isms.”

I see nationalism as a range within that of patriotism, but starting at that extremist point.