Aibree - Lilly Friend Project

Preliminary Questions

1. Where do you live?

Ames, IA

2. Are you crazy?

Yes No

3. Do you want more friends?

internet friends in-person friends both

Open Questions

1. Why are you filling out this questionnaire?

I randomly saw a post of the flyer and it caught my eye

2. How many "close friends" (by close friends I mean people that you see more than twice a month if they live in the tri-state area or if they are a long-distance friend that you speak with at least twice a month) do you have?

3. It's Saturday morning! What time are you up and what do you want to do with the day?

I can’t sleep past 8 am normally. I start by doing all my morning games. NYT games, daily crosswords, daily solitaire challenges. I kiss my baby boy Coyote a lot. He bites the shit out of me in retaliation. We spend the rest of the day chilling in watching tv and doing a jigsaw puzzle.

4. Do you like to go to any kind of cultural experiences? What kind and how often?

I like to go downtown and check out whatever even they’ve got going on. Farmer’s market, pride stuff, etc. sometimes I go to random church services for a church I’ve never been to. I’m not personally religious but it’s usually an interesting experience. Would highly recommend going to a Unitarian service.

5. How do you feel about Amy Winehouse?

She seems cool. I don’t think I’m the type of gay that would know much more than that though.

6. "Uh oh! I'm experiencing a negative emotion"; what happens inside you? How do you deal with it?

I like to distract myself. Try to do something productive. Otherwise I just tell myself that in the end, I’ll be okay.

7. How do you feel about school and teachers?

I had an insane and aggressive problem with authority growing up. I was kind of a huge asshole when I was a kid, but not to my peers— just the teachers. I love to learn though. If I’m interested in it, I’ll go deep. I’ve grown to like school a lot more and the right teacher is truly an angel sent from heaven. I think teaching might be a job from hell.

8. What is the most meaningful way to spend time?

Doing what makes you feel good. Sometimes that’s something big, but most of the time it’s just reading a good book or laughing at an internet meme or talking to your mom on the phone.

9. What is your favorite law (if you do not have a favorite, what is one that you think of positively)?

My favorite laws are ones that are clearly made in retaliation to one specific person or incident. Like randomly coming across a county ordinance that bans skateboarding on ledges past 3pm on a Sunday

10. What app on your phone (other than essentials) is your most used app?

The ESPN app. Even though I hate it. I am a hockey fan and my profile says my preferences are nhl and the Minnesota wild. Every time I open that fuckass app it shows me the nfl scoreboard first. I don’t give a fuck.

11. What are you hoping to get from filling this out?

To fulfill my lifelong dream of being on a podcast

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, which one would you choose:

Scary Sporty Baby Ginger Posh

2. The worst month is:

January March July November I don't think about this way

3. Do you live to eat or eat to live?

Eat to live Live to eat I'm really not sure It's complicated.... 🙁 I'm uncomfortable by this question and prefer not to answer

4. How do you feel about August: Osage County:

Love that movie! Hate that play! I thought it was a moving and interesting depiction of the American family Merryl Streep was great(doi!) and I am indifferent/feel somewhat positive about it Don't know what that is

5. How often do you speak about your love life with your friends?

A lot Not that often Once every other time I feel it out and need to make sure I don't talk about it too much Everytime I see my best friends

6. Your biggest fear about getting older is:

Becoming irrelevant Running out of time My body falling apart Becoming boring I'm not afraid of getting older

7. Dogs wearing clothes are:

Adorable and necessary for their comfort Humiliating for the dog Fine for practical reasons only (rain, cold) A symptom of social rot Depends entirely on the dog's attitude about it

8. People who don't tip well:

Probably just don't understand how service industry works Are fundamentally bad people Might be going through something financially Should be banned from restaurants I don't judge people's tipping habits

9. Distance in relationships:

Is always a sign something is wrong Can actually strengthen the bond between people Should be avoided at all costs Is necessary for maintaining mystery Means someone isn't trying hard enough

10. The best way to end a text conversation is:

Just stop responding when it feels natural Say 'okay talk soon!' or similar Send a thumbs up emoji You don't end them, they just fade There is no good way

11. The phrase "it is what it is" is:

Zen wisdom Giving up disguised as acceptance Sometimes true, sometimes lazy The most annoying phrase in English Perfect for ending awkward conversations

12. When someone consistently disappoints you, you:

Keep giving them chances because that's what loyalty means Gradually distance yourself while remaining cordial Have a direct conversation about expectations Cut them off immediately - life's too short Use it as an opportunity to examine your own expectations

13. How do you feel about answering all these questions:

Annoyed - this was way too long Intrigued - I enjoyed thinking about these things Resentful - some of these felt invasive Excited to discuss my answers with someone Neutral - just another survey

14. If we met in person, what would you want to talk about first:

Something completely unrelated to this questionnaire Why you asked such weird questions The answers we disagreed on most Whatever comes up naturally in conversation I'd rather just see what happens

Essay Question

Please describe a friend breakup you have gone through. If you haven't gone through a friend breakup, please explain why you think you have never gone through a friend breakup. Outline a major friendship in your life and explain why it is successful.

Something I’ve learned about myself as I’ve gotten older is that I’m not as observant as I think I am. There have been multiple times I’ve brought up a former friend to a current friend just thinking that person naturally moved on from us, only to realize that I entirely missed a piece of life changing soul shattering beef that everyone else knew about. And it wasn’t like they hid it from me— they genuinely thought I would remember it. I definitely have had friendship breakups, but I think I rarely realized it at the time. Which has been nice for my own mental health, actually. One of the breakups that did affect me happened in elementary school. I was friends with this kid and we were tight. Then, one day, she told me her mom thought we shouldn’t be friends anymore. And so we weren’t. That kind of sucked. Another time, also in elementary school, some kid wrote me a letter saying that they didn’t want to be friends anymore. I thought it was funny. Nobody else did. I felt like I was missing out on something everyone else was privy to. I even pretended to be upset and told a teacher! But to be honest, it makes me happier. Why can’t it be funny? Why does it have to be sad? I’m glad I missed out on a bunch of drama due to my own blissful ignorance. It was nice. I worry it also means I miss out on something fundamental about friendship, though.