About a month ago, I wrote an article called “Asking Online Strangers Deep Questions.” I really liked seeing how different people think. So I wanted to do it again and just observe any differences; without further adieu: here is Asking Online Strangers Deep Questions 2. 

1) What frightens you, or worries you, about your future? The future in general?

Jester: The thing I’m most worried about is that I won’t be ready for whatever happens. There’s a lot of things going on that are far bigger than me, and I don’t know if I’d be able to affect them at all.

Ninnyhammer: I’m worried that I won’t get to live my life like I really want and will instead fall into routine, just going to work and never experiencing life.

Chill Soup: I think what frightens me about the future is that I won’t be able to succeed in life (like finding the job I’d be happy with or succeeding in doing what I’d like to accomplish), or parts of my family and friend will drift so far apart that I will lose them forever.  In general I think the future is full of unknowns and can be molded by the actions we do, so I hope I am on the path I’d hope to be on.

Ball of Spaghetti: I am too lazy to get my life together. What worries me about the future is just how sensitive the world is now. People lose it over really small actions, and its just really getting old.

2) Is there a part of your past that you hold on to, but think you need to let go of?

Jester: Probably a few. Most of it boils down to that I need to do things in some way that at least concludes some of my past. Just for myself.

Ninnyhammer: I think I hold onto my mistakes and regrets. It stops me from being confident and just going out there and doing stuff. 

Chill Soup: For me there are parts of me that to be honest are in opposition to what kind of person I’d like to be, so in contrast I got a bit of the problem of holding grudges. So many things from my past will come back and slap me in the face. Sometimes I am working on moving past it and move forward with life

Ball of Spaghetti: I was a cooler person in the past. I did cool stuff and felt interesting. Thinking about what I used to be like just bums me out.

3) What impact do you want to leave on the world?

Jester: The impact I’d like to leave is to make the world a better place by helping people be better.

Ninnyhammer: I really want to convey to people that there is no need to stress and that we should just be kind and go out of our way to do good things for people.

Ball of Spaghetti: I want people to take a chill pill, and if I have to aggressively make sure they take said pill, then I will

4) Everything is happening so fast nowadays. What do you think we are missing? What do you think you personally are missing or not seeing?

Jester: I think we’re forgetting that tools and innovations are almost always to make something easier and/or more reliable. It’s the concept that most things are made of, and the reason we’ve been doing that is to give us more time and energy to do other things than just trying to survive

Ninnyhammer: I think we have become less observant of our surrounding environment. When you are on public transportation, you see that everyone is on their phones and just ignoring the existence of everything around them. I’ve met some really awesome people by just talking to the person next to me, and I think people should try to do that more often.

Ball of Spaghetti: Idk I guess we’re less aware of whats going on. We also care more about the destination than the journey nowadays.

5) What do you think life is too short to tolerate? Do you tolerate it anyway?

Ninnyhammer: I think life is too short to just accept having a bad relationship or career. I think we should go out there and actively work for what we want in life. I believe in Carpe Diem. I think I tolerate it in the short term, but if I notice that something unpleasant has been going on for too long, I will try to change that.

Ball of Spaghetti: I think life is too short to be bored. Yeah yeah everyone says boredom is good for you, but its just so boring

6) What is something you’re afraid of that you think is holding you back?

Jester: I’m worried about how I measure up to standards and my own ideals. It makes me nervous about whether or not I’ll be able to do things before I even try.

Ninnyhammer: I worry about whether or not I will do good enough to make myself and others happy. I’m not worried about making a mistake as I am about doing my best, and still having it be inadequate. So I just need to practice doing stuff.

Ball of Spaghetti: I’m afraid of people. I don’t think I need to explain why thats not a good thing.

7) Where do you see yourself in five years?

Jester: I see myself still trying to be the best person I can be, even if I slip up, fail, or go in the wrong direction.

Ninnyhammer: Hopefully not in a ditch. I think I will have realized by then that my dreams are unachievable and that I need to find pleasure in the little stuff because I won’t do anything great with my life. I don’t think I’ll have a great job or anything, probably just trying to get by in day-to-day life.

Ball of Spaghetti: 5 years older, and I guess in a mirror? I’d need something reflective to see myself.

8) What’s something you did that you’re not proud of?

Jester: Physically injure a friend. I was forgiven by them, but they have permanent damage from it.

Ninnyhammer: I lied. I told someone close to me that I had made something that I didn’t, and I still regret it.

Ball of Spaghetti: I gave a kid a nickel for a dime.

9) Are there some things you think you were better off not knowing?

Jester: I personally hold the opinion that even if things are unpleasant to know, the knowledge of it wouldn’t change it being there. It just changes if you’re aware of it or not.

Ninnyhammer: I don’t think there is anything I wouldn’t want to know because not knowing won’t make it not exist. My not knowing won’t change anything. I would rather know about something bad and be able to react to it than just live life in ignorance.

Ball of Spaghetti: You have approximately 4,000 wax glands in each ear, and newborn babies are given to the wrong mother in the hospital 12 times a day worldwide. Not sure how factual that is, but I still wish I didn’t know about it.

10) What lesson do you think someone could learn from looking at your life?

Jester: That you only know what you know after you’ve come to know it. Revelations now don’t change what happened in the past, and you can’t predict things to come without knowing what you have yet to know.

Ninnyhammer: That you should dream big, but recognize it is a dream and that life happens to you and does so quickly. You will regret what you didn’t do far more than what you did do. Go out there and seize your life and take the reins. Do what you want to do, because other people’s expectations shouldn’t stop you from being who you want to be.

Ball of Spaghetti: That although there is stigma against having a neckbeard and living on a couch, you can still do it.

11) What do you find most draining in your life?

Jester: Reconciling things that do not want to be reconciled. 

Ninnyhammer: Dealing with people who are constantly angry. They won’t change their views and are too stubborn to listen. They wallow in their rage and take it out on anyone around them. 

Ball of Spaghetti: Whiners.

12) What makes you happy? What would you recommend others do to be happy?

Jester: I get to try making things at my own pace. That’s just what I like being able to do. For others to be happy I would say that you have to let go of expectations of how you wanted things to be and accept how they are now, so you can move forward with what you’ve got.

Ninnyhammer: I think experiencing new things is primarily what makes me happy. Playing music and being outside are mainly what I want to do. I recommend looking within yourself and trying to find when you were the happiest in your life. Find as many instances as you can think of, and look for their similarities. You eventually will find that there is a theme, and once you find that theme, you know exactly what to do to be happy. Don’t linger on what stops you from achieving your happiness, find a way to get around your obstacles and do what makes you happy. Be your own person, who you want to be, not the person others think you should be. Do so without being too proud, or at the expense of others. It’s okay to accept help too. There will always be someone who wants to see you happy and who is willing to get you there.

Ball of Spaghetti: Being at home away from others. I don’t know what other people want. It’s not my business. I say if you want to be happy, just work for it. You’re not going to be happy aimlessly wandering around.

So there you go; that was the extent of the answers. I found it really interesting to hear everyone’s responses. I think were I to do this again, I would ask slightly less personal questions because out of about 10 or so people I asked, these were the only people that went through with answering them. I actually think that’s kind of a good thing though since I got to test the boundaries of my theory from the first article. Now I know the extent to which people are willing to talk about personal things anonymously.