Monica Lewinsky: If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

The question

If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

Verbatim recurring item in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Monica Lewinsky

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

How my PTSD manifests—it feels like being the only ballerina in the company saddled with a 100-pound backpack and told to go out onstage and still be graceful.

The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 12 August 2021 source ↗

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Aretha Franklin

My weight, but I’m working on it. I will return!

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 November 2003 source ↗

Jodie Foster

I would just be content with every moment as it is instead of gnashing my teeth trying to change things all the time.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 23 February 2024 source ↗

George Saunders Short-story writer and novelist

I’d like to have a more generous, less anxious mind.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 25 January 2023 source ↗

Melissa Etheridge Singer, songwriter and guitarist

Again, not gonna change anything about myself. I’ve really learned to appreciate everything. Okay, maybe I’d be taller. How about that?

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 5 September 2023 source ↗

More from Monica Lewinsky

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Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

My mom, for her unflappable ability to be sanguine (though she sometimes dips into Pollyanna territory).

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2021 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

It’s a toss-up between a tarantula crawling on me and dying alone.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2021 source ↗

Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

Compassion. Wisdom. Wit. The delicate balance of knowing when I need tough love and when I need support. Plus, call me crazy, but I’m also partial to friends who don’t surreptitiously record our calls.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 12 August 2021 source ↗

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