Proust

The Proust Questionnaire is ...a list of subjective questions that he felt would help reveal to people their true selves and the inner personalities of those around them.  What can you figure out about me from MY answers?

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR? I think we all have our minimal fears - sharks, heights, etc. but then there are the GREAT fears, the ones you can't let your mind wander to for too terribly long.  There are about five people in my life (and one puppy dog) that if anything happened to them, I would be absolutely devastated.  And wouldn't you like to know who is on that list?

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND? Healthy.  Still slightly hormonal.  Sometimes frustrated.  Most of the time rational.  But always content.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE OCCUPATION?(WAY OF SPENDING TIME) Right now it's just being with my baby - as I put her to bed last night I was a little sad because I knew that I was going to miss her face until I saw it again in the morning.  But when I'm not with my baby, I like to play sports, read books, have dinners with friends and in the summer...be by the pool!!

WHAT HISTORICAL FIGURE DO YOU MOST IDENTIFY WITH? Oh my.  The other night as I was holding a screaming infant, I tried to identify with Mary and realize even the mother of Jesus was probably at loss sometimes when she was holding a crying infant.

WHICH LIVING PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE? My mother. 

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FICTIONAL HERO? Scarlett O'Hara - sure, she was a little conniving and manipulative but she was smart and when it came down to it, she did what she had to do to survive.

WHO ARE YOUR REAL-LIFE HEROES? Ah...the word "hero."  I think there are lots of heroes in my world  but one "hero" that has stood out to me in the past months is my coaching buddy Shemika.  As a single 27 year old woman, she recently took guardianship of her 4 year old nephew Trenton.  She put aside her own life to do something heroic, which in my world means doing something in the best interest of someone else.  I'm really proud of her for the life that she is providing for Trenton and I know that she is his personal hero.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION? Possession as in something that I own...probably my jewelry, but not because of it's financial value.  I have my engagement and wedding rings, the Tiffany bracelet that Craig gave to me on our wedding day and my necklace that has a cross blessed by Pope John Paul II given to me by my mother on my Confirmation and then a puzzle piece given to my by my mother-in-law at my wedding.

WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU HAPPIEST? I think there are lots of moments where I have been "happy" because happiness is fleeting and is based on external items - buying a new pair of running shoes makes me "happy" but doesn't fulfill my soul and make me content.  There are a few times when I have felt truly content in my life - the most recent being a night sometime in the past week when I was lying in bed listening to Natalie snort in her sleep in the bassinet next to my bed, I could feel my four legged furry daughter Angie curled up at the bottom of the bed next to my feet and I could reach out and curl my fingers into Craig's hand beside me.  I had all my favorite creatures close to me and they were all peaceful and happy.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST OBVIOUS CHARACTERISTIC? I'm tall.  It's kind of been a theme in my life.  I think my height has more than just an obvious characteristic, but a defining characteristic as well.  Because of my height I was teased frequently growing up and it caused me a lot of anguish and strife, but without my height I would not be the talented athlete that I am.  Overcoming my awkwardness with my body and learning to love and appreciate the figure that God gave me has been a struggle in my life but hopefully I will be able to use my experiences to help Natalie one day because it's looking like she will have the same long and lean frame!

WHAT IS THE TRAIT YOU MOST DEPLORE (HATE) IN YOURSELF? I have a pretty wicked temper that sometimes gets the best of me and is sometimes accompanied by an insatiable need to obsess over things that people say or do that bothers me.  I wish that I could let things roll off my shoulders a little bit more.

WHAT IS THE TRAIT YOU MOST DEPLORE IN OTHERS? There are things in this world that I am good at and there are things that I am bad at.  There are gifts that God has given me and there are some that he has given others.  But for all my talents and all my gifts...none of these things make me any better or worse than any other person on this Earth.  God loves me equally among all of his sons and daughters and it really bothers me when people believe that they are "better" than someone else because of what they wear, how they act or what they believe.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE? As a couple, Craig and I like to travel...and we like to do it in style.  When we travel long distances, we pay the extra cash to fly first class and when we get to our destination, we are staying at a 5 star hotel.  This is why Craig works so hard at his basketball tournaments and why I don't mind supporting him - because I know the reward for all the work is a fantastic trip somewhere.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JOURNEY? I think my own personal journey from where I was when I was finishing up college to where I am now has been a pretty incredible ride. 

WHAT DO YOU MOST DISLIKE ABOUT YOUR APPEARANCE? This might be a little bit conceited, but there really isn't anything that I would change.  Sometimes I wish my hair wasn't super straight and would curl a bit but that is a pretty minor "dislike."

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST OVER-RATED VIRTUE? If a virtue wasn't important, it wouldn't be a virtue.  I don't think you pick apart something like that and just choose to follow the things you like and ignore the ones that don't necessarily fit into your life.

ON WHAT OCCASION DO YOU LIE? I am a terrible liar because I am honest to a fault.  I know that through teaching I am better at sugar coating the truth about my feelings towards a student.  A student isn't a "momma's boy" he is just "very well taken care of at home." 

WHICH WORDS OR PHRASES DO YOU MOST OVER-USE? "Does that make sense?"  I use that one all the time and Craig finally called me on it and asked me why I use it so much.  I think it's because it's my way of getting validation for my feelings when I'm afraid that I'm reacting the wrong way.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE? See above - I think I need to be stronger and more confident in who and what I feel and not apologize for my feelings.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?  My first inclination would be to say "my daughter," but I don't think just making and having a baby is a single great achievement.  I think raising a child is a lot of little achievements that add up to a great achievement upon one's death - the great achievement being...did I raise a productive and contributing member of society that touched people's lives and lived for the glory of God?  So, I don't think I have gotten to that "greatest achievement" stage yet, but I know that I've already started her journey towards that ultimate goal.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? Craig and I have a wonderful home which is currently the perfect size for two adults, a baby and a four-legged fur baby.  But as much as we love our little community, I think we both would like to have a little bit more land and be a little bit more isolated from our direct neighbors but we would stay in the general area of our current location because we love our careers and the schools that we work at.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A MAN? Honesty and dedication.  I know without a doubt that Craig will do everything in his power to make sure that Natalie, Angie and I have absolutely everything that we need in order to be happy and safe in our life.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A WOMAN? Confidence.  If there is anything that I hope to instill in my athletes it is this: understand who you are and own it.  There is nothing more unattractive to the world than a woman who does not have confidence in herself.

WHAT IS IT YOU MOST DISLIKE? Cold weather - if it could be spring and summer year round, I would be a very happy camper.  And mushrooms - I think it's the texture that bothers me.

WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS? Honesty - don't always tell me what I want to hear, sometimes you have to tell me what I need to hear.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIE? Peacefully, surrounded by family.

IF YOU WERE TO DIE AND COME BACK AS A PERSON OR AN ANIMAL, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE? I would come back as Angie because she is probably the most spoiled puppy dog that I know.  If I were to come back as her, I would be very well taken care of.

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE AN OBJECT TO COME BACK AS, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? I don't think I would want to come back as an object - where is the fun in that?!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO (WORDS YOU LIVE BY OR THAT MEAN A LOT TO YOU)? I don't know if I have "motto" that I live by, but I do find myself repeating the same phrases to myself quite frequently.  "It is what it is" and "do the best you can" are probably the phrases that most frequently come out of my mouth - especially to my students so I guess you could say that I try to live by both of those.

WHO HAS BEEN THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOU? My first automatic response would be to say my mother and she definitely has been a great influence on who I have become up until this point, but I think that Natalie will now have an even greater impact on the type of mother I am because I want to raise her to be a confident, contributing, compassionate person and therefore I feel that I have to more carefully inspect my own behavior and decisions.