I love all the things you have said here! My own characters always have pieces of me, not all pieces though and some have been the polar opposite. I do believe that comes with experience to be able to play some personalities that would in real life drive you crazy. Many of my characters have the same interest as me, b/c it is way easier to RP stuff you know than stuff you don't. I research so much though to make sure I'm as accurate as possible.

I have found many of my characters I find inspiration from my students. Many of them have traits that I have either found funny, hated, or liked. My character Bart is a very big example of this. He was crazy and representing everything I dealt with one school year from a student.