(photo by Alvin Engler via Unsplash)

Well, I’m down to the final round of Thought Questions! I’ve been answering these questions on and off for two years after seeing this post on another blog. It’s been fun and thought-provoking, to say the least. Here are the last twelve questions—somehow I seem to have lost a few, because I’m only counting up to 362 here. Oh well. If you want to see the post that started it all in July 2014, you can click over here. As always, thanks for reading!

#351: Where do you spend most of your time while you’re awake? Home. I’m a homebody.

#352: What makes someone a hero? Having the courage to follow your gut and be brave, whether that means making a personal decision that risks ridicule (even though you know it’s the right thing to do at the time) or if it means being selfless for another person. Heroes come in many forms.

#353: When in your life have you been a victim of stereotyping? I think some people see a young person with tattoos or someone who dresses differently and they draw assumptions about how responsible they are, or whether they’re a decent human being. I don’t run into it a lot but sometimes I do feel like I get rude responses from people and I wonder if it had something to do with how I was dressed that day, as opposed to something more socially normal and nice.

#354: When was the last time you felt lucky? When I spent my day off with my husband. <3

#355: When did you first realize that life is short? I think it hit me really hard a couple of years ago and kind of spun my world around. You spend your teens and early twenties thinking you’re invincible and immortal and for some reason getting north of 25 brought that to a halt for me.

#356: What is the most insensitive thing a person can do? I hate those people who “top” someone who’s explaining why they’re sad or hurting. You know: person A is like, “Wow, this cold sucks,” and person B is like, “You think that’s bad—I had bronchitis last month!” And now person A feels shitty from their cold and for saying anything at all.

#357: What can someone do to grab your attention? Be smart. It’s a dying talent, I’m afraid.

#358: What do you usually think about on your drive home from work? What I’ll eat. I don’t eat a lot at work on a typical night so I’m starving for a home-cooked meal when I get home!

#359: What’s one downside of the modern day world? I love my smartphone, but I hate that people expect to “connect” with you online instead of face to face. It’s cool if you legitimately live far away from each other, but if we’re a town apart—for crap’s sake, let’s grab coffee and chat! I don’t want to talk to you on Facebook!

#360: What simple fact do you wish more people understood? That life can be hard, and getting the things done that matter to you can be hard, but being miserable is hard too. It’s all a choice.

#361: If you could do it all over again, would you change anything? Oh yes. But I wonder what the consequences would be. Maybe it’s better to live happily scarred than unblemished and bored to death.

#362: How would you describe your future in three words? “Glowing empty page” (Jack Kerouac).

(photo by Lukasz Saczek via Unsplash)

#344: What makes life easier? Caffeine!

#345: What was the last thing you furiously argued about with someone? I don’t know if I can remember having a “furious argument” with anyone recently. I try to avoid those.

#346: What job would you never do no matter how much it paid? Butcher.

#347: What is the number one solution to healing the world? Just listen instead of talking so damn much. People need to just live and let live.

#348: What could society do without? The Kardashians.

#349: What stresses you out? Bad hair days and breakouts.

#350: Now that it’s behind you, what did you do last week that was memorable? Went to breakfast a couple of days with friends, which was nice since I was kind of hermitish all winter!

(Whim photo by Greg Rakozy via Unsplash)

337: Who or what is the greatest enemy of mankind? Ignorance. It drives religious warfare, racial discrimination, and every other kind of spiteful, divisive activity that turns one man against another.

338: What’s something you wish you had done earlier in life? Probably traveled, before I was tied down. But I would say I am happy with my life overall today, the wanderlust gets a bit less with each passing year. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

339: What is the closest you have ever come to fearing for your life? I got horribly sick once and wound up in the ER. Passing out and waking up in the hospital is pretty scary, especially when you’re not often sick.

#340: How do you deal with isolation and loneliness? I don’t really get lonely. I guess I am not a very social person. But usually I can text one of my friends or snuggle a cat and that makes me less lonely.

#341: What do you know well enough to teach to others? How to make excellent chocolate chip cookies. This is a work of art years in the making.

#342: What’s a quick decision you once made that changed your life? Kissed a boy on a whim. Eight years later, here we are. (Happy Valentine’s!)

#343: What have you lost interest in recently? I’ve kind of lost interest in life in general. I’ve just felt a bit blah. I keep trying to feel better though. Hopefully as spring comes I’ll perk up a little—I think I’m just really tired of being cold!!

(Fairytales photo by Blair Connelly via Unsplash)

330: What confuses you? HTML. Oh my god. WordPress gives me headaches.

331: In what way are you your own worst enemy? I am my own worst critic. It hampers me from taking chances on what I want because I’m so full of self-doubt.

332: When did you not speak up when you should have? There was one time recently when my boss asked me point-blank why I wasn’t happy with my job anymore and I passed it off with a generic answer instead of telling him exactly what dissatisfied me and what I’d like to change. Later I did have a more in-depth talk with him and a few things changed for the better, but it taught me a good lesson about speaking up when you’re unhappy. If you don’t say anything, nothing can change.

333: What is your favorite quote? Audaces fortuna iuvat (“fortune favors the bold”). I have this tattooed on my ribs. I need the reminder when I start to doubt myself (see #331).

334: What is your favorite fictional story? (novel, movie, fairytale, etc.) I love The Princess Bride, which is really sappy (“true love”) but what can I say, the blurb is right when they say it has all the elements: adventure, romance, danger, heroism, etc.

335: Where or who do you turn to when you need good advice? Depends on what I need advice about, but I have a few close friends who give good advice on everything from cats to money to work relationships.

336: What artistic medium do you use to express yourself? Writing. But also music, even though I’m not so good at playing the piano as I used to be and I can’t sing at all.

(Skyward photo by Jean-Marie Grange via Unsplash)

#323: What questions do you often ask yourself? What happens after death? Everyone has theories but I really think no one really knows.

#324: What are you an expert at? Multitasking. I know so many studies have come out saying it actually wastes time, kills your concentration, etc., but I like to think I have it down to an art form.

#325: How would an extra $1000 a month change your life? It would mean my husband could quit his full-time job and focus exclusively on school, which would in turn mean we’d get more time together. He’s currently swamped with homework and hasn’t even yet set foot in a classroom this semester! Yikes.

#326: What things in life should always be free? Compassion, and coffee (or tea). Warmth and love should be there for everyone. Too many people put conditions on their love.

#327: What is your favorite time of the year? I love October, but also the spring, when everything is growing and coming to life after a long winter. I think I really enjoy the promise of renewal and new starts.

#328: What is something you have always wanted since you were a kid? To be independent. I’m very strong-willed and chafe under all the rules and expectations society imposes on me.

#329: What is the most recent dream you remember having while sleeping? I dreamt that I overslept and was late for work. Then I woke up and discovered I’d slept right through my alarm! Luckily I got ready really quickly and made it to work just in time.