Thoughts and opinions (simple) on numbered responses. Please number and separate to not cause confusion. 1.

PROMPT A:

I would like you to think carefully about if you had a chance to go do dinner with anyone in the world (living or dead) who would you choose and then be so kind as to explain why you would want to have dinner with that person. What questions would you want to ask them?

If I had the chance, I would go to dinner with my late grandmother. She passed away when I was in my early twenties, and I feel as an older adult there are so many things I wanted to talk to her about still. Questions about her life and my father's life. My grandmother lived a hard life, she became an orphan at a young age and had to work as a maid most of her life. I would ask her what her aspirations were when she was young. If she was given the chance, would she have gone to school and for what subject. I would have asked her for more advice as a mother and I would have written down more of her recipes. I think as an adolescent, I was so wrapped up in my life that I assumed I had more time with her, but unfortunately it wasn't that way. Honestly, I would most just want to hold her one last time and tell her I love her.

PROMPT B:

Think carefully for this prompt as well, what are two (2) things you can do as an individual that will make the city you live in a better place. These could be things you're doing already or that you would like to do in the future. Be sure you explain in detail what it is you want to do.

There is so much good one can do in this world. So much need for assistance and care. I have volunteered in feeding the needy and helping the unhoused find shelter. I have cleaned up parks and beached, given the less fortunate clothing and warm items for the cold. I help with several Veteran organizations ranging from peer support to donation dispersal. I try to be a giving person as my mother always taught me to be altruistic. Although I grew up catholic and was more worried about doing good things because of God. I am an atheist now and do altruistic things now because I feel like it helps the world, or at least an individual's world. I have gained a large deal of empathy for the suffering of others throughout my life not because I seek a reward but because I feel a great responsibility to assist other beings. I have been humbled in life and perhaps that's why I am altruistic, but I do know a lot about what I do because my mother modeled that for me. She taught me to be kind and compassionate, to give to those in need and to forgive those even if no apologies were ever given. She taught me that love breeds love and hate poisons our senses and mind. I also have passed that down to my son but have chosen to raise without religion allowing him to make up his own mind about his relationship with God and world around him.

2. Trying to figure out who I would go to dinner with, living or dead, initially seemed too complicated. I was wracking my brain; there were so many people to choose from! When it came to me, it was a "no-brainer" for sure. I am a twin, and my twin brother died four days before we were born. His umbilical cord was in a knot, so he was not getting the nutrients and oxygen he needed to survive at the end of pregnancy. I always felt like I was missing something, and simultaneously, I had this connection to his spirit. I would ask him if he was still with me like I felt he was and if he was happy and okay. I would love to see if he looks like I imagine he does, and I would also want to know if he is with our mom. I always wanted to experience life with him, and seeing and talking to him would be everything.