Kim is a confident, brave, and beautiful teenager whose awareness of her own abilities is reflected well by her motto, "I can do anything". Her typical state of mind is to be bright and cheerful, and she has a kind and caring heart that compels her to help others and to put their well being above her own, although she can be arrogant at times, and can be jealous when people appear to do things better than she can. Her competitive nature and drive for perfection, as well as some of her insecurities, are consistent with a Type A personality. They also lead her to set high standards for herself, and sometimes give her a tendency to be bossy and to set standards for others that are too high - as was evident when she attempted to coach her brothers' soccer team - or to try and do things herself in order to save others from potential failure or harm.
Despite being a freelance hero, Kim is still a teenage girl and is susceptible to most normal teenage insecurities and growing pains. She gets embarrassed by her parents, is pouty when she doesn't get her way and has a strong desire to fit in, the latter of which is often one of her biggest weaknesses. Kim's personality traits were most clearly demonstrated when her school was hit by a fictional personality guide fad known as animology, under which she is classified as being a blue fox: a born leader who can't resist a challenge, is driven to excel, and who is a perfectionist. Kim has a tendency to be worried about - and be frequently fooled by - appearances. As such, she is often overly-concerned about her image and the way in which others see her, sometimes even going so far as to extend these anxieties to others (primarily Ron) even though they do not necessarily feel the same way. Owing to this element of her personality, Kim has a tendency to succumb to peer pressure, something she never really manages to overcome until the very end of the third season and she is often unable to see beyond first appearances and impressions or deeper than other peoples' defense mechanisms. It is this element of her personality which appears to form the foundations of much of Kim's rivalry with Bonnie, who is similarly competitive and concerned about appearances, and it is often through this rivalry that we see the less-desirable elements of Kim's competitive nature in play, including incidents when she has engaged in tit-for-tat revenge or one-upmanship and when she has competed purely because she doesn't want Bonnie to succeed. Due to her Type A personality, Kim also has a strong tendency to become frustrated, impatient or insecure when faced with a field in which she does not instantly excel. In addition to the recurring problems caused by her competitive personality and her weakness in the face of peer pressure, Kim has also demonstrated many of the weaknesses that have become cliché to teen high school comedy and drama. |