Echo was a wood nymph who loved a boy named Narcissus. Though Narcissus was loved by many, he never loved anyone; he believed no one was worthy of him. One day, Echo, who loved to talk and always had to have the last word, aided Juno's adulterous husband to escape by talking to Juno. When Juno realized Echo had distracted her, she cursed Echo so she was only able to speak when spoken to.
Echo, still very much in love with Narcissus, often waited in the forest for him to stroll by. One day, as he came by, Narcissus called out to Echo and told her to join him. Echo was overjoyed with his proposition and wanted to express her love to Narcissus. She ran towards him and flung herself upon him. Narcissus immediately had a change of heart and threw Echo to the ground. Echo was heartbroken, and ran off to the mountains where she eventually died of grief and became one with the mountain stone.
Narcissus continued to play this trick on other nymphs and so the gods decided to punish him, As he was walking past a pool of water, Narcissus caught a glimpse of what he thought was a beautiful water spirit, but it was actually his own reflection. He immediately fell in love, but when he reached out to touch the 'spirit,' the water displaced and the illusion was broken. Narcissus could only lay by the pool and gaze into the eyes of his love. Slowly, he withered away and died of grief just as Echo had.
A type of narcissist I abhor is the "humble bragger," or the person who thinks they are simultaneously better than everyone else but complains about how inferior they feel. I would rather associate with a person that owns their accomplishments and is confident or even overtly-confident than one who is constantly complaining about their small failures. The "humble bragger" is an annoyance.
An altruistic type I admire is the "quiet genius". The "quiet genius" never brags or even talks about test scores and grades. It is already stressful enough when one is surrounded by other intelligent people, and is in competition with them. To be a person that doesn't buy into the competition is refreshing.
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