Birthday Icebreaker Questions

This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 4/11/22.

Hello 28!

The fact that my birthday falls on a Monday (my favorite day of the week) this year feels like a great omen for the 365 days ahead. Yay! 

I tend to get a little sentimental and introspective around birthdays. This year, the thought loop I keep having is how turning 28 means that 10 years ago, I was a freshly minted 18-year-old. Wow.

On one hand, a decade feels like the right amount of time, considering all the changes, growth, and experiences that have taken place. But on the other hand, the comparison also serves as a reminder of just how fast time goes. It makes me excited to think about the next decade and what it will hold. At 38, will I be thinking back on today, the day I turned 28? Only time will tell, one day at a time. 🙂

When I realized my birthday was on a Monday this year – meaning I’d be sending out a newsletter – I knew I wanted to do something fun.

Recently, while reading this ‘literary lifestyle blog’ (one of my favorite sites!), I recently came across a reoccurring series called “Icebreakers.” In the posts, the author poses fun questions, provides her answers, and encourages readers to respond in the comments.

I find the posts fun to peruse, not only to learn more about the author’s personality and preferences, but also to learn more about myself too. The questions are different enough from everyday thinking that sometimes I surprise myself with the answer that pops into my mind.   

When thinking about today’s newsletter, I thought something similar would make for a fun (and somewhat introspective ;)) activity for a Monday morning. Inspired by some of the questions she features on her blog + a few of my own, I’ve compiled 8 questions and drafted quick responses from my POV.

Read on for more, and if you are so inclined to answer one or a handful of the below, I’d love to hear from you and learn more about you on this Monday. No rules, no stress, just something fun to do at the start of the week 🙂

Here we go!: 

1. What’s your coffee order and how many cups a day do you drink (if at all)?
2. Your most overused word is _____.
3. If you were a season (spring, summer, fall, winter), which would you be?
4. Favorite at-home hack?
5. What’s something about your life now that would surprise the you from 10 years ago?
6. The pep talk or mantra you tell myself when you need a boost?
7. What is an album you can listen to from start to finish with no skips?
8. One of your best (somewhat) recent purchases?

________

1. Had to start with coffee. My go-to order is a black hot – or iced pending weather & time of day – coffee, please, with nothing added. And as I do the math (1 early morning coffee, 2 morning/mid-morning coffees, and 1-2 coffees in the afternoon), I guess I drink 4-5 cups a day – eek! Might be too much, but works for me right now and brings me an absurd amount of joy. Love you, coffee. 
2. “Like.” I didn’t notice how much I said it until my friends and I started sending voice memos and I listened back to one of mine. Working on it…
3. SUMMER. I like the fall too, but I like that summer comes first and I’ve always been much better at beginnings than endings.
4. Use a paper coffee filter + Windex to clean mirrors. I don’t know why or how, but the coffee filter = no streaks! I do this weekly and it amazes me every time. 
5. That I like running now and actually look forward to my morning run (sometimes it is even my favorite part of my day!). This is coming from someone who would panic whenever it was time for the annual mile run in gym class.
6. I ask myself, what’s going right? I find three things (usually really small things or things I take for granted!) and feel my perspective shift instantly. It’s our default to focus on what’s wrong/what needs fixing, so this question is so helpful to remind myself that amidst the struggles, there are other things going well.
7. Maggie Rogers’ Heard It In A Past Life. Go-to album for planes, working sessions, long car rides.
8. I would have to say either this blow-dry brush (it has saved me so much time!) or this necklace (I wear it every day).

Thanks for letting me share this activity with you 🙂 Have a great Monday!!

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