My family answers the Proust Questionnaire
I split the questions among the five of us, not equally because my grandmother is a busy woman. Tata is in her 80s, Mimi and Omda are in their 50s, Medo and I are in our 20s. I gave myself the most vulnerable questions to avoid subjecting my family to such questioning. Hope you have a blessed week.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
No overthinking, no sensitivity, no need for validation from others. (~Medo)What is your greatest fear?
Being tortured for my values and not being able to handle it. (~Zaina)What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Conflict aversion to the point of allowing boundaryless disrespect. (~Zaina)What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Hypocrisy. (~Mimi)Which living person do you most admire?
My Cairo neighbor, Doctor Tawfik. (~Omda)What is your greatest extravagance?
Hair appointments. (~Mimi)What is your current state of mind?
I'm on stand-by. (~Mimi)What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Creativity. (~Mimi)On what occasion do you lie?
When there’s a threat to my physical safety. (~Zaina)What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Acne scars. (~Zaina)Which living person do you most despise?
A certain president with war crime allegations pops to mind. (~Zaina)What is the quality you most like in a man?
Straightforwardness. (~Mimi)What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Cool-headedness. (~Omda)Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Zeft (literally asphalt/tar, used as a swear word in Arabic). (~Mimi)What or who is the greatest love of your life?
MM. (~Medo)When and where were you happiest?
The summer after graduation, hanging out with friends. (~Medo)Which talent would you most like to have?
Belly-dancing. (~Mimi)If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d like to be able to socialise even when I really don’t feel like it. (~Zaina)What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being the principal of a low-cost school that helped poor Palestinians get an education. I was strict but not cruel. I used to tell the teachers that we need to educate these children because they are the ones who will free Palestine. They still call me to this day. Well they used to, before the war. (~Tata)If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A comic book character. (~Medo)Where would you most like to live?
Countryside, tight-knit community, not too far from the city. (~Medo)What is your most treasured possession?
My photos with or of people I care about. (~Medo)What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not having any dreams or hopes. (~Omda)What is your favorite occupation?
School principal. I liked being a teacher but it was tiring. (~Tata)What is your most marked characteristic?
Quietness. (~Omda)What do you most value in your friends?
Chivalry. (~Omda)Who are your favorite writers?
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik and Abdel-Wahab Motawee. (~Omda)Who is your hero of fiction?
Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia. (~Medo)Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I haven’t read enough memoirs to answer that. (~Omda)Who are your heroes in real life?
My father, sister, grandmother, younger me. (~Medo)What are your favorite names?
Fatima, Amina, Misk, Imaan, and Zaina, of course. (~Tata)What is it that you most dislike?
Hypocrisy and stinginess. (~Omda)What is your greatest regret?
I don’t really experience regret. (~Zaina)How would you like to die?
I go to sleep and don't wake up, while in good health. (~Zaina)What is your motto?
“People see others as they themselves are.” (~Mimi)