- What is your current state of mind? At peace, but stressed. working on multiple projects and short on time.
- What is your favorite journey? Inward, always inward.
- What is your idea of perfect happiness? Silence, solitude, poetry, and wine! Food too.
- What is your greatest fear? Losing the ones I love.
- What is your most marked characteristic? Fiery
- What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Impatience and I have OCD tendencies.
- What is the trait you most deplore in others? Not being authentic.
- What is your greatest extravagance? Daydreaming!
- What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Patience, hence I’m impatient.
- On what occasion do you lie? When I can’t say no.
- Dislike most about your appearance? I always wished my skin was darker.
- Which living person do you most despise? No one. But I’m indifferent to some people. And if I’m indifferent to someone they wish I despised them.
- Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Are you F****** kidding me?”
- What is your greatest regret? Wasting time not being productive.
- What or who is the greatest love of your life? My family.
- When and where were you happiest? When I didn’t know how ugly this world we live in can be. I can be at my happiest but cannot stop thinking of the less fortunate.
- Which talent would you most like to have? Writing…
- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? To be less fiery. I don’t have a temper. But on the inside, I can go from ice to volcano in a fraction of a second.
- If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? I want them all under one roof again, with me.
- What do you consider your greatest achievement? Surviving not knowing where my two sons were for almost 10 years. They were with their father, I just didn’t know where exactly. I found them, we were reunited in 2012, and they’ve been with me since then. A happy ending, yes, but sometimes I look back and think, “Did all this really happen?”
- What is your most treasured possession? My peace of mind.
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? There is no worse misery than losing a child to death.
- Where would you like to live? In a log cabin in the mountains, far far away, near the edge of the world. Don’t ask me where that is.
- What is your favorite occupation? The one I’m transitioning into right now; medical interpreting, and translating.
- What is the quality you most like in a man? Tenderness and integrity.
- What is the quality you most like in a woman? Tenderness and integrity. I do realize I gave the same answer to both men and women. Both are human first. Gender-specific qualities are for another kind of questionnaire.
- What do you most value in your friends? I don’t want a friend to ever tell me what I want to hear. I want my friends to say it like it is.
- Who are your favorite writers? I don’t have a favorite writer, I have favorite pieces of writing.
- Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Wonder Woman, the new wonder woman.
- What is it that you most dislike? Those that don’t pay attention to detail.
- Who are your heroes in real life? In this day and age, my heroes are the ones that care. They always do their part. They don’t do “their best”, they do what it takes.
- How would you like to die? Very old, in my bed, after I get the chance to say my goodbyes, I wish to be alone, awake and aware when my time comes.
- If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? As Myself, again and again, and again.
- What is your motto? Whatever it is you’re doing always ask yourself, “why am I doing this?”
- DK’s Bonus Question: Why do you keep coming back to this Blog? Live and Learn is the only Blog that is a part of my day, every day, most days with my morning coffee. I keep coming back because it is a delightful place to be, where everybody knows your name kind of place, I keep coming back because it is fertile ground for inspiration, and so much more…
Notes:
- Sawsan is an Awesome Friend and faithful follower and kindly agreed to share her responses to the Proust Questionnaire. Sawsan’s WordPress blog can be found at: Last Tambourine
- The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. (Source: Vanity Fair)
Live & Learn 
Love this! Sawsan, these answers confirm my impression of you from our interactions here over the years. You are strong, wise, and centered. I hope our paths cross in real life someday. And I, too, consider this blog essential reading each morning. It has brought many interesting ideas to my doorstep and blessed me with some fabulous friends.
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I too really hope our paths cross. Thank you Lori. And can’t wait to read your answers to the Proust Questionnaire 🙂
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Don’t know if I am that brave….
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Well, we’re not clear you have much of a choice.
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Oh my….will need to think about this one….
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Yes. Please…
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BRAVO Sawsan! I’d love to know you, and spent a fair amount of time nodding in agreement, pausing in thought or simply marveling at your candor and intelligence. You rose to the challenge – with talent and insight and beauty. Great response to the bonus question too..
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The feeling is mutual Mimi. Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad DK added his bonus question because I know I don’t thank him enough for what he does here.
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the one about sawsan’s greatest accomplishment tore my heart out
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Me too Beth…
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No, please, that wasn’t my intention.
A kiss to your precious heart, Beth ❤🙏🏻
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It just means it touched my heart, no need to apologize)
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Beth, that one stopped my heart too for a long moment….. I remember that one of the most poignant books I read as a teenager was ‘Never without my daughter’ – thought of that title reading Sawsan’s words.
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I watched the movie when I was a teenager. Never thought I’d live it myself. And I don’t wish it on anyone.
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Oh, I remember that!
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I love this interview, such great questions. Swanson has opened up her heart to all of us. I love her answer to #35!
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Yes, so me too Darlene.
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Thank you Darlene. Can’t wait to see everyone’s answers.
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David, I know I can’t possibly thank you enough for L & L. Please please please 🙏🏻 keep being who you are here, keep doing what you do best, and I’ll always follow along. You’re a Star.
Ps. I’m still going to be your worst nightmare 😉
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All you Sawsan. All you.
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🙏🏻
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It’s fascinating how a virtual place can be populated with such real people.
Quite lovely especially when the answers to the questionnaire resonate so deeply within me.
Sawsan, you are definitely someone I’d put on my list of “People I’d like to meet one day to share a meal with and chat and chat and chat.” Right after David of course! Or even at the same table!
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Thank you for your kind words, Luise 🙏🏻
It’s amazing how much more connected we feel once we share few personal experiences and views.
That would be a dream coming true, this family here all on one table. Because where I come from we’re not family until we break bread together.
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Louise, this is what we all would like to see – although it would end in a rather large table round, a mega-class-reunion of David’s ‘groupies’…..
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🙂
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I LOVE MY GROUPIES!
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… and so you should!
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Sawsan, having been blessed at meeting you (and looking forward to the next time), these answers only confirm what a fantastically wonderful human being you are.
I love this. And we love you David, for creating this family who meet here every day (almost), ready to learn something new!
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Thank you Dale.
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No, thank YOU
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It was me who was blessed. Looking forward to your answers 😉❤
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Oh stop. We’ll share! 😘
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It goes by height. Like water falls from you to me 😂
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Buahaha!!! Alrighty then!!
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Ha ha ha…… 😉
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Good responses!
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Agree!
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Thank you, Sawsan, for your deep and beautiful honesty. Much love.
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Much love back to you. Thank you.
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Beautiful photo Sawsan and great questions DK as we gained a deeper insight into our lovely Sawsan. 💚💕🌈 We should arrange a get together one day with all the gang here DK. Will meet New York ha! Not far for me! ✈️😀
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Oh, that sounds like a great idea Karen. Let’s plan on it!
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Yes! 👏💚 Your shout 😝
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OK!
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Thank you Karen 💕
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Interesting questions! I come back to your blog daily for similar reasons.
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Thank you Melinda!
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I haven’t even looked at my questionnaire! And I haven’t got any photos of myself – I’m always the photographer…. And I’m terribly shy in my interior! (I am!)
Sawsan, that was just SO AWESOME. He have dared outing yourself as the one you are, you haven’t shied away from give truthful answers and I love you even more now than before. I stumbled over your ‘fiery’ character but nodded fiercly along when you wrote HOW that works – going from ice cold to flaming hot in a fraction of a second…..
I will re-read your replies many more times – right now you have exhausted me and I need my sleep. Even a true insomniac needs a few hours per night and I have burned my candle at both ends for too long now. I’ll be back!
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Good night 🙏🏻
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Saison, my dear wonderful virtual friend;
Somehow I completely missed your guest post these 3 years later, but now I‘ve re-read the Questionnaire and I‘m again and again completely bowled over by your answers. I loved (again) burrowing into your train of thoughts and the depths of your heart, your shedding a light on Why you are What and Who you are….
Hugs and thoughts of love to you – and to Dave, for allowing us access to you and those other wonderful, beautiful, caring people following his blog.
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Thank you for your kind words, Kiki.
And thank you for stopping by again.
We should urge David to retake the Proust Questionnaire. And we should all add a question each, for His Royal Highness to answer.
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Sassan, Did you realise that HRH has not replied to my comment but liked it? Maybe to him it’s not something he would feel comfy about? Let’s wait and see. It’s not lessening our love and appreciation for/of each other 🙂
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We’ll see about that.
❤️
But start thinking of your question to add 😉
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Heck, how come my phone came up with Sassan? Never even knew if that’s a real word. Sorry SAWSAN! ❤
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Like Sassoon!
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This doesn’t even phase me anymore. No one spells or says my name right. Every phone call starts with “sassusesannnn…am I saying it right.”
To which I always respond “Don’t mind my name just keep going!”
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Funny!!!!!
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Ladies, you want to retake the Proust questionnaire? Ok. Send me your answers to same question plus the answer to this: list the biggest personal change you have made since the answers to this post in 2019?
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Nice try!!! You think you’re slick.
You’re retaking it first. And we are adding questions.
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Dave. That’s NOT what we had in mind….. you’re stalling!
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That’s rich coming from you two. One disappears for 2 years. And the other makes intermittent appearances from her perch in the Alps. And then both start giving orders! Wow!
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