Wow. I love this. I think I could talk about this all day.

My characters - every single one of them - probably reflect at least one aspect of my personality. Some more obviously than others. And if they don't have aspects of me in them, they probably have traits/interests that I desire or take on traits from people that I know. I think they also affect my personality. I learned a lot from Bliss (taking responsibility for mistakes), Clara (being able to say no without guilt and sticking up for myself) and Rhea (persistenting despite difficulties and being able to ask for help when it's needed), and I'm so grateful for that.

Bliss, as my first proper character, was definitely too perfect, too nice, too ideal. Those things caused their own problems and became flaws, to a degree. I suppose, because I was so young and really wanted to be liked, I saw her as my chance to be the person I wanted to be through her. She definitely wanted everyone to like her and was nice to a fault. I learned a lot from her, though!

Often my characters share one specific interest with me and that thing becomes their biggest passion. Clara has art and languages, as well as a general Ravenclaw thirst for knowledge. Dee has photography. Rhea has dance. Isobel has music. Those are all things I love and admire but don't have time to explore in my own RL, so I suppose I sort of experience and appreciate them through my characters? It's really to explore and learn about things you're interested in without having to commit to actually doing that thing in RL. I definitely wouldn't have time for all the hobbies I'm interested in!

Harry is loosely inspired by my boyfriend's grumpiness. Riley's personality was inspired by an old friend of mine's personality. Magdalena embodies my habit of becoming infatuated with a hobby for a short period of time but never sticking to things; always changing and trying new things. Clara shared my anxiety. Tessa has my (at least how I view myself) occasional lack of tact.

However, I don't see anything wrong with characters being influenced by our personalities. My characters all have their own individuality - they have different histories, motivations, and are (I hope and like to think) complex. They aren't defined by their similarities to me. I do think that their similarities to me makes it is easier not to lose interest in them and, when a RPing block does happen, it's useful to be able to fall back on that central passion I can connect with.

Anyway, that's just my experience.

*really enjoying reading everyone else's view on this*