be a little kinder than you have to

IF...

 

1. ...you had to name a smell that always makes you nostalgic, what would it be? 

    the lakes. They smell fresh, like sunshine. The scent reminds me of swimming as a little kid, and "hanging out" as a teenager and in college. Family picnics, walks around the path, and an hour (or so) of cutting class.

    Mostly, anyway. The west end of the West lake and the east end of the East lake each do get kind of fishy at certain times of year.

2. ...you could have kept a detailed diary of one period of your life, so that you could now reread it, what period would it be from? 

    2017 to 2021

3. ...you had to select the one thing in life you feel the most guilty about, what would it be? 

    I lost a gift that was given to me, by someone who could not afford that sort of generosity. It was not an innocent misplacement but rather my own careless disregard that brought it about. I'm not sure that there are words adequate to apologize for something like that.

4. ...you had to pick the worst driver you know, who would win (or lose)? 

    a friend from college who is a strange combination of aggressive, distracted, and timid. I've never been able to relax in a car they were driving. 

5. ...you could ensure that one existing law would never be broken by anyone, which would it be? 

    the prohibition against murder, I suppose. It's probably creepy that I can think my way around pros and cons to almost any other law.

6. ...you could retract one expression of gratitude that you made erroneously, what would you take back? 

    I would take back any of the expressions of gratitude that have been thrown back in my face by ungracious friends. There's a whole generation of people who have been taught that honest expressions of appreciation or regret—"thanks" or "I apologize"—are weak, meaningless, and unwelcome. I do not understand why someone else's honesty is so much less welcome or appropriate than their own. 

7. ...you could drink only one type of alcoholic drink for the rest of your life, what would you choose? 

     feh. I drink rarely, so when I do it's wholly based on mood. Going out for drinks just doesn't appeal like it used to. Now and then, though, my taste calls for it, so I'll have one. The last few I've had (over the last few years) were "craft" beer or iced tea vodka + lemonade.

 

 [from If2: 500 New Questions for the game of life; the title quotation is by E. Lockhart, from We Were Liars]