To die before I know certain things.
Originally asked
Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire
The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2020 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 256 →Losing my family. And fear that the world won't become a better place.
That I take this questionnaire too seriously and reveal my crimes and misdemeanors, or I treat this questionnaire too flippantly and bring shame to the House of Proust.
I become very anxious if I think I’ve hurt someone.
More from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
View profile →Loyalty. Not fawning, but a loyalty based on our shared love and history that fosters compassion and forgiveness.
Dishonesty. It destroys relationships. It’s something celebrities especially have to guard against because people are prone to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the truth.
Barack Obama has shown us how to be a politician guided by intelligence, integrity, and compassion.
I had self doubts when I was a freshman in high school. I was 14 years old and not very mature, and there were a few incidents in my freshman year. I learned in a very competitive environment. The high school environment that I played in was very intense, and I learned how to be stoic and go out and compete.
My college years, when everything was possible and I felt physically invulnerable.
Laziness. After 30 years of being a disciplined athlete with an intensely tight schedule, I still can’t forgive myself for letting things slide.
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