Questions about childhood me

I spotted these questions on Tater’s blog and thought “oh, how interesting” so here are my responses…

Would you rather be born in your decade or ten years later?

I’d rather have been born the decade before, as I’d have loved to have experienced the sixties in London. I know that wasn’t an option in the question, but the truth is that I have no strong feelings about being born in either my decade or ten years later, so I decided to bend the rules 😉

Would you prefer to still to have your favourite childhood toy or childhood best friend?

My favourite childhood toy was Big Ted. Yes, it was an imaginatively named large teddy bear 😉 which I managed to keep until my family left Nigeria in a bit of a hurry, resulting in the list for keep-and-ship becoming confused with the throw-out one. I wouldn’t have said I wanted him thrown out, but I was 16 and so absolutely fine about it. Moving around a lot meant our friendships didn’t have much chance to last long. But when I went to boarding school, something prompted me to write to a friend whose family had returned to Canada, and we’re still in touch.

Biggest childhood influencer: teacher or parent?

The majority of the time my experience of teachers was more often disappointing or dispiriting. My family moved so often that we were reliant on one another in a way that those who grew up in one place were not. So, I would say my parents – each in their own individual ways.

Did you professionally become your childhood dream or did you become something else?

As I’ve already answered this in a previous post, what I’ll add is the one time I was asked this question was on a retreat when in my very early teens – and I answered ‘fighter pilot’. Clearly I was a snarky early teen 😀

Are you an only child or do you have siblings?

I’m the oldest of 4 children – 2 sisters and 1 brother. My sister and I were born 14 months apart, then my brother 7 years later, and my youngest sister 8 after that.

Would you rather re-live your childhood or the past fifteen years?

It depends whether the questions means a repeat of, or a do-over. If the former, I’d chose the past fifteen years. If a do-over, then my childhood. Of course, by having a do-over of my childhood, the past fifteen years would unavoidably be altered too, so… who knows!

Are you a dreamer or a realist?

I dream a lot, but my decisions growing up were based in reality. In my later years, I’ve begun to follow my dreams.

Were you a picky eater or a food lover?

Not picky at all. As children we were exposed to all manner of food and cooking styles, and I only developed my taste preferences once I became a teenager. I think my parents were most surprised by my preference for drinking coffee strong and black, and without sugar, for every other member of my family drinks it milky and sweet.

Were you more family-oriented or friend-oriented?

As a child, our circumstances meant we were definitely family-oriented. I didn’t change my focus from family to friend until much later in life when I’d put down some roots in England.

Were you better at math and science or language and art?

Definitely more a creative soul than a practical one. I scraped through my maths qualification, but only after tuition, and science – in the form of physics and chemistry – were a mystery to me. I got along with Biology just fine, although studying the brain for psychology was hard work in my fifties – if not quite so hard as statistics! Language has always been my first love and, while I enjoyed art, I’ve never been much of an artist, although I have remained an appreciator of it in all its disparate forms.

Do pick a question (or two) to answer if you’ve a mind to. And if you decide to have a go at answering them all at a later date – do let me know.

© Debra Carey, 2023