(1) Many people recall with great fondness an especially kind handwritten message offered to them in their own high school yearbook that has inspired them ever since.
For instance, in my own life I myself will always treasure the wonderfully kind message from my German-American Spanish teacher at O. Henry Junior High School here in Austin, Miss Melba Schumann, herself a native of New Braunfels, Texas, with fluency in German as well as in Spanish, who in the early 1970s wrote just below a smiling photograph of herself in the faculty-members photos section of my own yearbook: "Que te vaya bien siempre! --- Melba Schumann".
That message was especially endearing to me because in the very same class yearbook of mine from O. Henry Junior High School, an English-born male classmate of mine, Alex Tees, wrote as his thoughtful end-of-the-year message to me, "Beware of coral snakes!"
When you reflect on your own high school or junior high school yearbooks, does any particular handwritten message to you from anyone continue to serve as an inspiration to you today?
(2) If you were asked to offer an autobiographical account about your own life in 20 words or less, what would you say?
(3) Do you keep a daily or weekly or biweekly diary or journal about your own life? If not, do you ever sense that keeping a journal or diary might be helpful to you or might be creatively fulfilling for you?
(4) Do you ever sense that possibly one of your current or former schoolmates, or possibly someone else, may seek to harm you? If so, how have you responded to that problem?
(5) If you could enter a time tunnel and visit the city or town or rural area where you were born in the year you were born, what would you like to discover in person about your own birthplace from that time period?
(6) Are there any strengths or talents you yourself have that you feel sure that 99 percent or more of your current or former schoolmates either did not have or do not have? For instance, can you speak fluent German? And if so, have you ever considered applying for a job or pursuing a career with a multinational corporation headquartered in Germany?
(7) Of all the insults that any schoolmate of yours or anyone else has ever subjected you to, which insult stands out as the most offensive or most alienating ever?
For instance, have you had the very disgusting experience (as I have myself have had) of receiving an outrageously offensive unsolicited signed handwritten letter in the mail from someone in northern California, for instance, with that "someone" having been an individual whom you had already permanently and irrevocably and very emphatically rejected 12 years before, and with that very unwanted letter addressed to yourself having made NO REFERENCE of any type to your having already permanently and irrevocably forbidden that person from having any further involvement with you of any type, and that alleged harassment letter to you having failed to EXPLAIN IN WRITING EXACTLY WHY and EXACTLY HOW that alleged stalker and rejectee somehow obtained your own current mailing address in Texas (such as in a town named "El Campo", Texas, for instance)??
(8) Have you ever considered conducting a taped or videotaped oral-history interview of yourself on an annual basis, as a way of keeping up with your own values and beliefs and goals as a human being? If so, what would be the first question you would ask yourself in that oral history interview in which YOU get to pose the questions for which you then offer an answer to each such question.
(9) If you could write a brief autobiographical account about yourself at your current age, what would you mention about yourself in the last paragraph of that account?
(10) Do you ever daydream about moving to another city or county or state, or to a foreign nation? If so, would you please tell me a bit about those daydreams of yours?
(11) Of all the persons in the entire world whom you would like to get an autographed photo of, which person would you choose for that, and why?
(12) When are you most aware of having a harmonious relationship or harmonious involvement with your parents or your grandparents or your aunt or uncle? For instance, do you find that you feel much happier and more relaxed when you and relatives of yours travel to the Gulf Coast for a vacation or mini-vacation together?
(13) Do you look forward to attending family reunions? If so, which relative of yours do you most enjoy having a conversation with during a family reunion?
(14) Do you remember any particular stories about your family or clan that you especially savor or enjoy mentioning? For instance, did any relative of yours ever tell you that you yourself have Mormon ancestors who were persecuted by non-Mormons in Missouri or Illinois, for instance? For that matter, did any relative of yours ever tell you that members of your own family clan on your father's side of your family tend to remain standing when they're told to sit down, and they remain seated when they're told to stand up?
(15) Who is the most famous person whom your father or mother has ever introduced you to in person? What was that introduction like for you, and do you still keep up with that famous friend or famous relative or famous associate or famous acquaintance of your mother or father?
(16) If you could somehow get a dual citizenship for yourself, would you like to be a dual citizen of Ireland and the United States, The Netherlands and the United States, Denmark and the United States, Sweden and the United States, Canada and the United States, The United Kingdom and the United States, Germany and the United States, or some other two-nation citizenship?
(17) When you are age 60 or 70 someday, do you feel confident that adult younger persons will feel friendly toward you and want to get together with you? What do you believe will be your own strength as a human being at appealing to adult younger persons when you turn age 60 or age 70?
(18) Of all the athletic activities you currently pursue, which sport or athletic activity do you feel confident you will continue to pursue successfully when you are age 60 or age 70?
(19) If you were given the opportunity to write a fictional screenplay, what would you want for the title of your movie?
(20) Of all the popular songs that you like to sing or croon to yourself, such as when you are taking a shower in your private bathroom of your home or apartment, which song delights you the most?
(21) Do you admire the traditions your father and mother have when they celebrate their wedding anniversary each year? For instance, do your mother and father have an annual tradition of traveling to San Antonio, Texas, in order to dine in "La Louisiane" French-style restaurant there, as my own parents did each year on their wedding anniversary, or some other type of special annual cultural and entertainment adventure just for the two of them?
(22) Do you ever imagine yourself during your retirement years or semi-retirement years someday in your distant future, such as when you are age 70 or 75 or 80? If so, which types of creative projects and hobbies and other enjoyable activities do you hope to pursue at age 70, 75, or 80, and do you have any sense at this point in your life about the U.S. state or foreign nation where you will choose to live during your retirement or semi-retirement years?
