Over the last couple of weeks, my beloved blog has toped 65 subscribers, and I am so eternally grateful! As I know some of you are unfamiliar with yours truly, I wanted to take a minute to reintroduce myself in a creative way with a bit of cool cultural lore.
Popularized by French author and literary critic Marcel Proust, the so-called “Proust Questionnaire” is a set of 35 questions that would be passed around like a parlor game when guests visited the author’s Paris home. In the game, Proust believed that, in answering the prompts, an individual reveals their true nature. Apart from shallow ice breakers, I too think these questions are a unique way to peak into my brain :)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Sitting in a bustling café with a matcha latte (honey added), dinner with my mother on a Saturday night, mornings in Door County, evenings in southern France.
What is your greatest fear?
Existing with no purpose or motive— never allowing myself to fall in love and dying without a smile on my face.
What is the trait you most deplore about yourself?
My envy and inability to separate my worth from that of others.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
A lack of drive to learn about the world around them— ignorance in short.
Which living person do you most admire?
My mother and father, Joan Baez, Angela Y. Davis, and all women fighting for liberation, equality, and progress.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My tattoos, vintage clothing, art supplies, and vinyl collection.
What is your current state of mind?
Anticipatory of the fate ahead of me and my country, anxious about where our future lies, and determined to move through it no matter the state.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Self control & reservedness— don’t hold yourself back or filter your being from your true self.
On what occasion do you lie?
When it’s necessary for the mental or physical well being of myself or others, never with intent to harm either factors.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
The cellulite in my arms and my rolled stomach, however I have learned to embrace/love my stretch marks (nicknamed my tiger stripes).
Which living person do you most despise?
Donald Trump and the people who boost or support his rhetoric, plain and simple!
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Gentleness, kindness, tenderness, and humility.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Empathy, intuitiveness, ambition, and loyalty.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
There is a long list, but my common are “gagged,” “omfg,” “welp,” “go off,” “ok diva,” and “period.” I know I’m forgetting something obvious but I cannot for the life of me remember more.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I don’t know if I have yet met said person, but as for a cause, I consider my dedication to advocating for women’s rights and feminist policy in politics my purpose in life!
When and where were you happiest?
Surrounded by loved ones in the warmth of the sun or the comfort of a home when there was a world raging outside but it doesn’t matter.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Flirting abilities, but also being able to play an instrument really well (preferably guitar or piano) or being good at math.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Maybe how much I compare myself to others or how much I can overthink decisions that I should just trust my gut instinct on.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Helping pass safe storage and red flag gun laws in Michigan and getting to attend the signing in 2022. Also, starting this blog!
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I wouldn’t come back as a person, but I think I would be a very good fat house cat.
Where would you most like to live?
Edinburgh, Scotland.
What is your most treasured possession?
My journals, vinyl collection, vintage pin buttons, and this blog :)
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being filed with hate simply because someone refuses to understand or learn about different perspectives / social issues / ways of life.
What is your favorite occupation?
Cafe owner, essayist, studio artist, museum educator, movie composer, park ranger, civil rights lawyer, children’s author.
What is your most marked characteristic?
The carnation and boot spur tattoos on my left arm above my inner elbow based off of woodcut stamps.
What do you most value in your friends?
Wonder, kindness, humor, honesty, and curiosity!
Who are your favorite writers?
Joan Didion, Anne Sexton, Adrienne Rich, Bell Hooks, Sally Rooney, Suzanne Collins, and Toni Morrison.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Joan of Arc or Hildegard of Bingen, but it’s impossibly to even pick two!
Who are your heroes in real life?
My momma.
What are your favorite names?
I’ve had a list since I was twelve, so it’s necessary for me to shorten the list significantly. For girls: Joan, Lucy, Phoebe, Francis, Elliot, and Iris. For Boys: Elio, Kit, Laurie, Beau, River, and Arlo.
What is it that you most dislike?
Eggs, bigotry, chewing with your mouth open, slow walkers, no curiosity, anti-intellectualism, any kinds of bean.
What is your greatest regret?
Not saying “I love you” when I should’ve (I know say it as much as I can).
How would you like to die?
In my bed, with my life partner, surrounded by memories of a life well lived soaked in love.
What is your motto?
“Let everything happen to you.
Beauty and terror.
Just keep going.
No feeling is final.”
-Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
Love this….and you. ❤️