When I realised that I was meant to be a dancer, aged 19.
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
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 577 →Becoming a mum quashed so many demons within me, and gave me confidence and a sense of calm.
When I got my dogs, Charlie and Ziggy Stardust. One is a pomeranian mix and the other is a rescue mutt, and, oh my God, he's so cute.
Last summer with my boyfriend Richie. We had no plans – it was just wonderful.
More from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
View profile →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.
Being surrounded by my friends and family. Just listening to them interacting, laughing, sharing. It is the culmination of everything I could have hoped for.
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.
I don’t think that is tough, because if you have an idea of something meaningful to communicate, you can move forward on that. You might not be successful in communicating what you want to communicate, but at least you have an idea of something that needs to be said, or something that you think should be said, and I think you go from there.
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