Fifty People, Five Questions.

As a sort of experiment, I've sent a list of five questions to fifty people - all very different people, with very different backgrounds, from all over the United States, and around the world. There's nothing really unifying in this post, other than the fact that each of those fifty people answered the same five questions.

Everyone was oh-so eloquent, and for that reason I felt it was only right to include names. For the internet's sake, I've included first names only. If you'd prefer to be anonymous, feel free to tell me and I can change yours. Thanks to everyone for your participation (I'm so sorry I couldn't include everyone's!).

Without further to do, I present to you,

"Fifty People, Five Questions."

1. Introduce yourself.

• "I am an aspiring polyglot" - Ariel
• "My life is an ongoing journey to answer the question... I am a planner who is finally letting fate take the reins." -Catherine
• "A self-discovered feminist" -Katie
• "Do you eat? Sleep? Breathe? Great! We have so much in common!" -Maike
• "I'm gay." -Emily
• "I really love dead languages... I’m really awesome, I just don’t make any sense." -Jocelyn
• " I am currently a professional high fashion model and am postponing college in order to pursue my career." -Colleen

2. What is the happiest moment of your life?

• "Going to China and getting to see my family again for the first time in 7 years." -Paula
• "Probably some time at some summer camp. I'm always happiest at camp." -Leanna
• "Still looking for it whatever it is." -Ian
• "When I met the love of my life." -Haily
• "...there hasn't been one defining moment of my life which I would label "happiest." I try to make each day and week of my life happy..." -Erin 
• "The day I started figure skating... I never looked back." -Marie
• "The happiest moment of my life was when I overheard a girl who I thought hated me say that she disliked me because I was "too nice."" -Ianka
• "I love any time I'm standing on the edge of something new." -Christina
• "The moment I returned to the One who was the closest to me while I didn't know it. God." -Heba 

3. How would you define your culture?

• "It's a liquid." -Catherine
• "I would define my culture as one that is a river: picking up whatever comes my way." -Ariel
• "Nonconformist... I kinda just do things my own way, and in a way we are our own culture." -Nana
• "I was raised to value one of the best things about America- the overwhelming diversity that permeates almost every part of our country." - Priscilla
• "Secular Ashkenazi Jewish (treating Judaism as an ethnicity and nation rather than a religion)" -Ryan
• "Britain does have a few unique traits... we're very good at queuing, politely ignoring assholes and offering sad people a cup of tea and a biscuit." -Chermara
• "I don't participate in culture." -Emily
• "Classic American... I'm a decedent of European immigrants, and live in a little suburb." -Thomas
• "...Texan, since Texas generally likes to be its own category" -Stephanie
• "I find it really hard to define culture because I see it as cultures within cultures within cultures..." -Kira
• "My culture is very American. Family dinners a couple times a week. Supportive friends and family. We abide by the ten commandments. Creativity is encouraged." -Colleen
• " I live in a mostly all-white, middle-class corner of suburbia. The only thing I don't like is the angst that pollutes the air, the desire to become something more, the desire to get out. But we are the boomerang generation. We get out, see the world, and retreat back to this comfort zone of ours. We're moderately privileged and relatively ignorant to the ways of the world. It's suffocating, but it's our life." -Michaeline

4. Do you live somewhere where you would consider yourself to be in the majority? How has this influenced who you are?

• "I am certainly not the majority, but I'm not sure who is." -Chermara
• "I live in a place where I am the part of the majority, politically speaking... I would have never become this open about my political beliefs if I didn't live somewhere I felt accepted." -Ariel
• "I live in Maine where there is no diversity whatsoever. It makes me, at least, try to distance myself from people... It's all about expression and being comfortable about who you are, and accepting people no matter what." -Katie
• "I'm not sure how many Alaskans currently live in Taiwan..." -Carly
• "Living in New York, I find that I am not part of a majority; from here of all places comes the true definition of diversity, and every small minority living here is a testament to that." -Dante
• "My culture is pretty liberal, atheist, urban. Pretty nerdy. Liberal nerdy people are the majority here." -Garrett
• "I've stuck out my entire life. I've felt misunderstood a lot of the time. It makes me appreciate how nice it feels to blend in when I go to China." -Jessie 
• "Where I live, I would consider myself to be in the majority in the sense that my family has enough money to enjoy some luxuries that most people in the world never get." -Margaret

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live, and why? How would you like to live once you're there?

• "Palestine, just like any other Palestinian, is craved in my heart; it's a piece of my soul and the core of my cause. It's history, heritage and existence, to me it's not just a word in a sentence, it's a part of who I am. " -Heba
• "I feel like I fit in better in China than in America, for whatever reason." -Evangelista
• "I would like to live in a family with three sisters, who speak to me mainly in Hindi, and they go the temple a lot..." -Catherine
• "My dream is to live in South Korea. I want to teach English as a foreign language there, and I hope to go there on a one-year exchange during high school." -Laura
• "I am certainly not limited to America" -Holly
• "Once I live somewhere I just want to live." -Thais
• "Kazan, Russia... I would like to live in an apartment and work as a translator." -Sydney
• "Even if I earn a ton of money I plan to live in a small apartment and use the rest of the money to either donate, buy ice cream or go to Lotte World." -Nana
• "I don't want to stay in the same place too long, I think... Wherever I am, I want to live surrounded by friends." -Kira
• "I'm very bad at being home, so I'm not sure I could stay in Japan forever." -Grace
• "I would like to live with no responsibility at all." -Ian
• "Until France pulls itself together, I think I'd live in Montreal." -Leanna