While looking through some blogs this morning, I found this list of questions. This blogger linked to the original list of questions, which can be found HERE. Since I am trying to get back into this blog, and I am not quite sure what to share yet, I thought that I would go ahead and try to answer these questions. Some of them are difficult and take a lot of thought, and that's what makes them so great. I would challenge you all to attempt them as well. Here we go, 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind:
Q1. How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
A: I have always been told that I have a pretty old soul. I like to use strong vocabulary, and I spend most of my free time reading. I care deeply for people, and a lot of times I struggle to get along with people my own age because I've always been a little more mature. Because of this, I would assume I was at least in my thirties, if not close to forty.
Q2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
A: I would say never trying is certainly worse. You never know how you will feel about something unless you give it a try. Sure, failing can be painful and difficult, but I feel it often encourages us to try harder to make something happen. Never trying could cause us to miss out on some wonderful things.
Q3: If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like and like so many things we don't do?
A: This is so true! I guess we just try things because other people tell us to, and we can be highly affected by peer pressure. I think sometimes we are very nervous and skeptical to do things we might really like, too, something I still do not understand. I think we like the idea of things we don't do, since we can't be sure if we actually like them or not.
Q4: When it's all said and done, will you have said more than you've done?
A: I would like to think that I will have done more than I have said when everything is said and done. I work very hard to make sure that my students feel important and cared about, and I do like to think that makes an impact. I tend to put others before myself, which I think is a sign of doing more than saying, too.
Q5: What is the one thing you'd most like to change about the world?
A: Abuse in any and every form. I see it so often at work, even if it's just emotional abuse, it's so horrible. Our world would be a much better place if everyone could just treat each other right. That is unfortunately not the case, though.
Q6: If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
A: Oh, this is such a good question. How much easier would things be if we could pay for things with happiness? Spending time with my family would be the best kind of work for me, if we are getting paid in happiness. There is nothing better than simply spending time with the people that we care about most.
Q7: Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
A: At the moment, I am a little unsure. I want to love what I'm doing, and I strongly believe in what I'm doing, but it has not been what I had hoped for, either. I do hope that being somewhere different and new will change these feelings, though.
Q8: If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
A: I would stop spending so much time complaining about how bored I am, and force myself to get up and actually do things. Time would go so quickly (it already does), and I would figure out how to live each day to the fullest more than I do now.
Q9: To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
A: Uh, to a decent degree, I suppose. I had to choose my friends, my focuses, my priorities. If I would go to college, what I would study, how hard I would work to get a job with my degree. I would say that I have had quite a bit of control over where my life has gone.
Q10: Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
A: Eek, both? I am really OCD about doing things the right way most of the time, if I am being honest. However, I also find it very important to make sure I am doing the right things. This is tricky, I still choose both. There are no wrong or right answers, so that can't be cheating!
Q11: You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all
start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your
friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
A: I would definitely stand up for my friend that they are talking about. This is a big part of why I don't have a lot of female friends my own age, honestly. I can't stand the drama and gossip, and I try to stay away from it as much as possible.
Q12: If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
A: Stay innocent and young for as long as possible. Life gets hard, so cherish the moments where it can be easy for awhile.
Q13: Would you break the law to save a loved one?
A: Yup. I know that is probably wrong, too. I would do just about anything for someone I love (of course, I would prefer to do so without breaking the law!).
Q14: Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
A: Um, I don't think so? I have seen a whole lot of creativity, but I don't think that I have really seen much insanity at this point...not that I can remember, at least.
Q15: What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
A: Um, I guess read? I am pretty strict about some things when I read. I can't stop in the middle of a chapter, so even if dinner is ready or something, I have to finish a chapter before I can go eat. I also cannot stop reading a book before it's done, no matter how much I dislike it. It's something that drives me crazy if I try to. I guess it's a bit of OCD or anxiety or something.
Q16: How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
A: Everyone is different, and we all enjoy different things. Happiness is different for everyone. I can easily lay around and read a contemporary love story and be completely happy, but my husband has to be active and busy to be happy. Everyone is different.
Q17: What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
A: Applying for my Master's degree. I have already passed my GRE and my scores were good, but I'm worried about applying to graduate school. I'm worried I will pick the wrong major and it will hold me back in the future.
Q18: Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
A: Um, yes. It's something a bit personal, and that I need to get over, though those things aren't always easy. I am working on it, though.
Q19: If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
A: I think that it would be wonderful to live in London. It seems so lovely, and everyone seems so nice and social there. I am sure I would be happy in a couple different states, too. Maybe Colorado, it would be nice to have the snowy mountains and everything.
Q20: Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
A: If I am by myself, then yes I will press it more than once. I know that it doesn't make it faster, but I'm still impatient. When I'm with other people I only press it once though because I don't want them judging me for being so impatient!
Q21: Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
A: Definitely a worried genius. I don't think I could be a simpleton, even if I was a joyful one. I love to learn, and would probably continue to always take college courses if I could afford to do so. I am a natural worries, something I get from my family, so it would not be too different than normal (I'd just be a genius, no big deal).
Q22: Why are you, you?
A: Everything that I have done/decided throughout my life has made me who I am. I am who I am because of the choices I have made.
Q23: Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
A: I like to think so. I always put others ahead of myself, even when they might not deserve it. Actually, I have helped out a lot of friends when they have not deserved it. I have not always had the best of luck with friends, and I guess I always assumed this was better than not having any friends at all (this was clearly a wrong thought, though).
Q24: Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
A: When a good friend moves away. I have experienced both, and this one is definitely worse. Technically, I guess I'm the one who moved because she lived by our college and I did not, but it's hard to be so far from someone you're so close to.
Q25: What are you most grateful for?
A: Family.
Q26: Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
A: Wow, this is really, really tough. I wouldn't want to experience either of these. I guess I would rather lose all of my old ones because then I have all of the future to make new ones. It would still be upsetting, though.
Q27: Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
A: I don't believe so. It seems that you have to look at all possibilities before deciding what is really the truth. I think that is human nature. It's at least that way for me.
Q28: Has your greatest fear ever come true?
A: No.
Q29: Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
A: Um, no, I can't really remember any specific time 5 years ago when I was that upset. I guess that would mean that it definitely doesn't matter now.
Q30: What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
A: Anytime spent at my grandma's house. I used to love playing with the magnets on her fridge (she used to have dozens of them on there!). She and I had a very close relationship, and now that she is gone it makes those memories even more special to me.
Q31: At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
A: I think I have felt that way for this summer, just because it was a much needed break. Now I'm definitely not feeling it. I'm just feeling quite a bit of stress, actually. :/
Q32: If not now, then when?
A: Now. Definitely now.
Q33: If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
A: It feels like everything, but I know that's not true and very dramatic. There isn't much to lose, really, but I'm still afraid of it. It's something that I need to work on.
Q34: Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
A: I feel like my husband and I can do this all of the time, actually. We can just sit together, without talking, and it will make for wonderful moments. I don't think that you always have to be talking in order to enjoy time with someone you care about.
Q35: Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
A: I don't talk about religion on the Internet. It makes for a lot of drama.
Q36: Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
A: No, I don't think so. We all have good and evil in us, and it's out personal choices that decide which way we go and what we do. I feel like circumstances can change how someone reacts, too, so it could easily switch from one to the other without much warning.
Q37: If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
A: This is tough, but probably not. I would probably take time off once I have kids, but I don't think that I could ever stop working completely. I think that I would be way too bored sitting around home every day and what not. It's not for me.
Q38: Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
A: More work that I actually enjoy doing. I like to be doing something instead of just sitting around because then I become incredibly lazy, which is not something I should let happen as much as I do.
Q39: Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
A: This day, a little bit. The summer did drag on a bit, though now I'm dreading that it is almost over. I guess that is how it works every summer once I'm on break, though. There were quite a few days this summer that I was pretty bored, though, so the days do feel much the same.
Q40: When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
A: I tend to go into things pretty blindly when I believe that they will work or have positive outcomes. I do this with my work all of the time, as I want to try to do whatever I can to make things the best for my students. Sometimes this means trying new things that scare me.
Q41: If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
A: Yikes, that's a very sad thing to think about. I would get all of my family together and spend the day with all of them together, that way I would have a chance to spend time with most of the people that I love.
Q42: Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
A: Absolutely not. There is more to life than looks and fame.
Q43: What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
A: Being Alive = breathing/heart beating
Truly Living = making a positive impact with what you do.
Q44: When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
A: It's always time to just do what's right, at least I believe so.
Q45: If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
A: Because we're told that it's horrible to make mistakes, instead of being told that it's okay to do so as long as you learn something from them.
Q46: What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
A: Everything. I worry way too much about what people think of me, which is sad. I am sure things would be very, very different for me.
Q47: When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
A: Um, probably the other day when I was working out. I have to focus on the way I breathe when I work out since I get out of breath so easily.
Q48: What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
A: My husband, family, Sirius, friends, my students - I try to do things every day to show this love, even if it's simply telling them "I love you."
Q49: In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
A: I might, this weekend was a busy one in which we spent every evening/night with family. Those are usually my favorite times, so I am sure that I will at least remember them a little bit.
Q50: Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making
them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
A: I think that I need to be better about making them for myself. It's a work in progress.
Whew, that was long! While I enjoyed it, I'm also glad to have finally made it through! If you bothered to read through all of these, then I applaud you!
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