Challenge Week 3: Answers

Anonymous: What is your most vivid memory? Doesn't have to be from Italy. But a memory that when you close your eyes you can picture yourself there.

My Answer: Alright! I have an answer after like a 12hr contemplation. I've been going to college in DC for 3 years now and I love living here. I have a ton of friends, from home and colleges in Maryland & Virginia, who have never been to DC. Freshman year, one of my best friends came to visit me in DC for a weekend from her college in Philly & I was able to show her around. We went for a walk around this huge reflecting pool near the Jefferson Monument. Now between March and April is a month-long celebration they call the "Cherry Blossom Festival", here in DC. Out of nowhere, literally overnight, the trees in DC bloom and produce the most fragile, yet potent, cherry blossom flowers. When you walk around DC, the smell is just unreal. I went for a walk freshman year around the same reflecting pool during cherry blossom season. That's one of my most vivid memories - sitting in one of the most amazing cities in the US, the light off the reflecting pool, and the smell of the cherry blossoms around you. It's absolutely memorable in its simple beauty.

And something I will do again this spring :)

Anonymous: How do you picture your life 5 years from now? I realize that's the kind of question you get at school, but I'm curious. How do you hope your life will end up?

My Answer: Within the next 5 years, I hope to accomplish a lot of things. My senior year, I plan to apply to a police academy in NJ, to jobs (assuming I'll have my BSW in spring 2014), and to grad schools for my MSW. However, the first thing I'm paying attention to is acceptance to grad school. If I get accepted somewhere, that's my top priority. If I don't get accepted anywhere, then hopefully I land a job. If I don't land a job after graduation or get accepted to grad school, I'll attend a police academy in NJ. But within now and the time I graduate, I hope I'll have a boyfriend. Someone serious. Maybe I'll be engaged in the next 5 years, who knows. I'd also like to go back to Italy; maybe I'll even end up working there. 

My fantasy dream: I'd be married by 25 or 26, would have been accepted into the CUA MSW Program and have my MSW under my belt in one year, land a great job, start paying back loans, travel a bit (preferably with a boyfriend/fiance or a friend of some kind), and have my own place. I'm naturally independent so paying for things myself and being away from home & family have never been difficult for me. I work hard at whatever job I have & pay my own way. I don't ask my parents for anything because they don't need the burden and that's not what I want from them.

But even if I don't get most of those things, I want to be able to wake up every day and love what I do. That's all life is in the end, I think - looking back and realizing all the great and unique things you did, including the ways in which you changed the lives of so many people. I hope this is a satisfying answer.

A friend of mine asks me: There's a girl I like, she's smart, funny, and really cute. I enjoy the time I spend with her, but I'm not sure if there is anything there. How exactly should I go about approaching this girl? I don't want to ruin our friendship either. I just want to know how she feels. 

My Answer: This depends on the girl. I think you should drop hints but be careful about it. Valentine's Day is coming up - ask her about what her plans are and figure out if she's interested. And go from there. Keep it simple.

Anonymous: What is your favorite television show? Feel free to express why you like it so much.

My Answer: I actually have a few. I love The Vampire Diaries. I think it's a great show and when I say "great show", I mean it keeps my attention. It gets tricky to follow if you miss one episode! Plus - let's face it - Ian Somerhalder is gorgeous. Another favorite is How I Met Your Mother. OMG that show it HYSTERICAL! It's just so realistic and absolutely hilarious! I turned into a HIMYM addict last spring, haha. Either of those I can watch over and over and never get tired of them. Great question!

Anonymous: If you could date any fictional character, from either television or literature, who would it be? Explain please :)

My Answer: Two words: PEETA MELLARK. I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games Series and I have to say, (spoiler alert) I'm glad Katniss chooses Peeta in the end. If she didn't, I'd be ultra pissed. Peeta is the ultimate sweetheart of the series cause readers know Katniss is a huge cold-hearted brat. Even through 3 books of Katniss going back and forth - between Gale and Peeta - the boy with the bread (Peeta) still wins in the end. WHICH IS AWESOME CAUSE I LOVE HIM!

Here's why - Peeta isn't rich. He's a very humble character and is more intelligent than Collins (the author) portrays. Says me. Peeta has always worked hard, at home and for Katniss. Quite honestly, I don't think Josh Hutcherson did a good job playing Peeta in the movie. Actually, I was extremely disappointed in the movie. Peeta is the ultimate sweetheart - he cares deeply for Katniss and he's brave through the entire series. He has his moments - nightmares, jealousy/Gale issues - but his heart is always in the right place. Peeta is the non-existent chivalrous character that women WANT, but understand it's only fiction. He does everything to save Katniss or at least keep her safe. Even when it included stupid things, like not telling her about his replacement leg. That was dumb. But Peeta goes from rags to riches through the series and doesn't turn into a dbag. He's just simple - he's just Peeta. And he hopes that everything he does for Katniss proves to her how much he cares. It's his baking abilities, the little things he says, the cute things he does that totally win me over. Okay, so I don't want a baker - that counts as a bonus in a guy, I guess.

But I'd date Peeta because his heart is in the right place! Actions speak louder than words :)