Talking to People About Things They Love: An Introduction

“Tell me what you love, and I will tell you who you are.” –Arsène Houssaye

I was interested in trying something different from an ordinary blog. Rather than little old me randomly opining on the state of the world (it’s a mess), the latest book I read (M Train by Patti Smith –excellent), or celery (aka Satan’s dental floss), I wanted to set up a sort of confession album, a 19th-Century practice in which friends asked each other questions, the most famous one being the Proust Questionnaire. For this confession album, I figured what better way to get to know people than to ask them to talk about something they love. And so, here are the questions, with the hopes of learning more about some interesting people and the things that move and shape them.

  1. What is one thing (object, idea, practice, etc.) that you love?

  2. How did you first come to discover this thing you love? Do you remember?

  3. Do you feel like anyone mentored you when you first discovered this love or in developing your love? If so, who and under what circumstances?

  4. What do you love about it?

  5. How do you express your love for it?

  6. How do you feel it makes your life better?

  7. If someone were interested in discovering more about this thing you love, where would you direct them? Where would they start?