Rarely is any label correct. That's why we use general terms.

Yeah, I know... I guess I'm getting a little obsessive about it, but it's new, exciting, and figures me out!

Same here, just don't kill yourself over it.

Hmm, Ace has a point Vin.

Why not go until I figure it out? Any leeway would only slow the process and... well let's be honest, irritate me more...

Oh, you can push, just stay aware of your pressure is all I'm saying, as long as you know your limits and stay cautious then you should be just fine while you push.

XD

But if I push hard and it works, and suddenly everything clicks into place, then I earned it! It'd be so much more satisfying if it was my own work that brought it to my attention...

I know, I know.... I'm not so hard headed as to think that 'I know it all' or anything. I just don't wanna miss my opportunity, you know?

Oh, good then! I'll talk to you all when I figure it out!

I love Portal.

"Huge Success"

As for your descriptors, haven't you known Mainstreamers that they describe perfectly (I have), which is why I say they're just personality factors. They're not unique to Therians. They're not even unique to the theriotypes you ascribe them to. For instance, only a small subset of dogs  are only loyal to one person at a time. Most develop loyalty to groups of people.

That is exactly what therianthropy is like. Therians bear a "family resemblance" to each other. If you think about how vague family resemblances are - yet they're so obvious - you'll have the idea.

I have Howl photos that I display in my office and, usually, when people see them, they assume they're family group photos (taken at a reunion). Fact being, none of use are related by blood - not closely, anyway.

The important things in therianthropy is not what you are but how you relate. I'm disturbed at how focused a lot of people on Therian sites are on themselves with little (apparent) concern for the Therian community as a whole. I feel like I might have some bear tendencies but I rarely ever talk about that because it's sorta trivial to me.

I honestly like Lenowill's answer to the issue. You learn about yourself as you move through life and pay attention to what you do and how you do it. Soul searching, as much as it's touted on the boards, is pretty much worthless. Pay attention to all the soul searching that goes on. Notice how many people that talk so much about it end up deciding that the answers they came up with were wrong and they start "soul searching" again.

I will bet you that a lot of the people that learned all about themselves by meditation will one day, "Grow out of they're phase," and as they sit around in the old folks home, they'll joke about "those days when they thought they were a Werewolf."

In the meantime, all the young Therians that don't know any better and take they're advise about soul searching and meditation will continue to be confused and take that much longer to figure things out. In brief, trying any and everything to get answers is not a good strategy - if you use bad techniques, you get bad results, and then you really do have to start back on square one.