2000 vs. 2010

This is a survey that I wrote for Facebook, but I thought I would post it here as well. I had the idea the other day that it would be interesting to see the differences a decade makes. Several of my friends have now taken my survey, and the results are both enlightening and optimistic. Despite the current economic situation in our country, everyone who took this survey felt much more confident and hopeful in 2010 than they did in 2000, and each person has clearly changed for the better in those ten years. Those of you who follow my blog might want to take this survey on your own, just to see what changes have happened in your life in ten years' time.

2000 VS. 2010 SURVEY

Rules: You're supposed to answer each question twice. The first answer is what you would have answered in 2000, the other is how you are now answering in 2010. You are supposed to give careful thought to each answer. The point is to see how you have changed or stayed the same in ten years' time. The first few questions are the deep, difficult ones; the rest are more light-hearted.

FIRST, THE SERIOUS QUESTIONS:

1. What challenges are you facing this year?
--(2000) I was a new Christian, struggling to put the ghosts of my past behind me and manage to live a normal life. I was terrified of messing up, and embarrassed by my looks. The hardest thing, sometimes, was just getting up in the morning.
--(2010) The year has only just begun, but it has had its share of challenges already. I've moved again, started over again, and am preparing to remount the grad school "bicycle," even though I fell off the first time around. I'm working hard to get into the right shape for the army, as I will be doing ROTC on top of grad school. I'm also trying to follow a stringent new sugar-free eating plan in order to finally get the blood sugar and migraines under control (which, by the way, is working really well). So far, it's all surmountable. Not easy, but not horrible - I'm actually feeling quite good about this year.

2. What is your biggest fear?
--(2000) Failing my parents again. Actually, I had a lot of fears back then.
--(2010) I hate to admit it, but my biggest fear right now is honestly my fear that the other students in my program will all be smarter than me.

3. What are you most grateful for?
--(2000) God's gift of salvation.
--(2010) God's gift of salvation.

4. What is your biggest goal this year?
--(2000) I think my biggest goal was to get an A in English. I also wanted to lose weight.
--(2010) I want to pull straight A's and score above 60% on all of the physical tests for ROTC.

5. What will be the biggest life change for you this year?
--(2000) I think that was the year I got my wisdom teeth out, which was rather traumatic.
--(2010) I'd say joining the army is about the biggest life change I'll have this year! :0)

6. What is your favorite Bible verse?
--(2000) Proverbs 3:5-6
--(2010) Matthew 5:16 and Luke 5:13

7. Besides your parents, who do you most admire?
--(2000) Lucille Ball, Sarah Edmonds (Civil War nurse and spy), and Franklin Roosevelt
--(2010) Virginia Hall (WWII SOE and OSS agent), Deborah (from the Bible), and Sarah Edmonds

8. What do you most want to accomplish in your life?
--(2000) I wanted to be an author, wife, and mother.
--(2010) I want to be an officer in the US army, have children someday, and be a historian in one form or another.

9. Where do you see yourself in five years?
--(2000) Going to college at Evangel Christian University, majoring in English.
--(2010) An army officer with an MA in history, possibly stationed in Germany or Egypt.

10. What is your career or current job?
--(2000) High school student (sophomore, then junior) and babysitter.
--(2010) Graduate student


NEXT, THE FUN QUESTIONS:

11. Who is your favorite actor? Favorite actress?
--(2000) My favorite actors were Desi Arnaz and Van Johnson. My favorite actresses were Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, and Doris Day.
--(2010) My favorite actor is Cary Grant and my favorite actresses are Olivia de Havilland and Irene Dunne.

12. What is your favorite color?
--(2000) Blue
--(2010) Yellow

13. What pets do you have?
--(2000) A lovebird named Chance, and three cockateils in succession: first Christy, then Poppy, then Oliver. I also occasionally had fish, the only one of which I can remember is Dmitri, who committed suicide later in the year (amusing story).
--(2010) A shih tzu named Jasper.

14. Who is your favorite author?
--(2000) Agatha Christie
--(2010) Jane Austin and Dorothy Sayers

15. What is your favorite TV show?
--(2000) I Love Lucy
--(2010) NCIS and Frasier

16. What type of car do you drive?
--(2000) I didn't own a car yet, but occasionally my dad forced me to drive his car (I was TERRIFIED of driving).
--(2010) I have a yellow Chevrolet Aveo5.

17. What is your favorite type of cuisine?
--(2000) Italian
--(2010) Thai and Korean

18. Do you keep a journal or diary?
--(2000) I kept a journal.
--(2010) I keep a journal and have a blog.

19. Who is your favorite singer or group?
--(2000) Avalon
--(2010) Idina Menzel and Jo Stafford

20. What is your favorite salad dressing?
--(2000) Thousand Island
--(2010) Raspberry vinaigrette, but I can't have it anymore because of the sugar.

21. What is your favorite season?
--(2000) Summer
--(2010) Autumn

22. What is your favorite holiday?
--(2000) Christmas
--(2010) Christmas

23. Name one exciting thing that you hope will happen this year.
--(2000) I had high hopes of getting asked out on a date by a boy I liked. Sadly (at the time), he barely knew of my existence.
--(2010) I'd really be excited to get an assistantship in the fall.

24. How often are you on the internet?
--(2000) My dad took away the internet because I went in a chatroom once (I was not allowed to go into them).
--(2010) I am on way too much, but I do use it for research frequently, so I guess that part is justified.

25. How often do you drink coffee? How do you take your coffee?
--(2000) I almost never drank it, but when I did, I liked it black with tons of sugar. I preferred cappuccino, actually.
--(2010) I love a good mocha with an extra shot, but I can't have them anymore because of the sugar. Instead, I have one very large cup of coffee each morning. I put in a little bit of my low-sugar International Delight creamer and two sweet n low packets.

26. What do you like on your pizza?
--(2000) Pepperoni
--(2010) I have yet to find a pizza recipe that I can eat with my new dietary restrictions. If I could eat it, I'd like it with chicken, shrimp, sweet potato, olives, tomato, corn, and bell peppers. I hate pepperoni!

27. What is your favorite sport?
--(2000) I despised sports.
--(2010) Volleyball

28. Where are you living?
--(2000) Kalamazoo, MI
--(2010) Lynchburg, VA

29. Where would you most like to take a vacation?
--(2000) Australia
--(2010) Morocco

30. How do you spend most of your time?
--(2000) Writing poetry
--(2010) Doing graduate reading and research

31. Who do you spend most of your time with?
--(2000) Duper and my parents
--(2010) Jasper, but only because classes haven't started yet and I don't know very many people here.

32. What is your favorite type of animal?
--(2000) Crocodiles
--(2010) Adele penguins and red pandas