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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.

Others on this question

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I would talk slower. When I hear myself interviewed sometimes it sounds like I’m running an auction.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 April 2014 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 ↗
Indecisiveness. It can be really annoying, especially when I am out to dinner and can’t decide between the chicken or the fish.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 23 November 2022 source ↗

More from Yo-Yo Ma

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Question When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? Daily life
While I’m on stage, you are all my guests, because that’s sort of the unsaid agreement. While you’re my guest, if something bad happens on stage, I often think of Julia Child, “Oh, the chicken’s fallen on the floor! Yes. Oh, well pick it up and put it right back.” And you know what? Everybody’s with you. […] So whatever you practice for on the engineering side that fails is all right, because we have a greater purpose. The greater purpose is that we’re communing together and we want this moment to be really special for all of us. Because otherwise, why bother to have come at all? It’s not about proving anything. It’s about sharing something.
Recorded Krista Tippett, On Being, published July 2018, On Being (The On Being Project), 1 July 2018 source ↗
Question What fills you with the most pride? Identity & self
Mr. Rogers lives on. There’s so many legions of people that grew up with him, and they’re still in a way growing up with him. He, of course, was a minister. ... And the children of the show, in the neighborhood, are his ministry. And what a beautiful thing that is. So I, to this day, when someone says, “What are you most proud to have accomplished?” I am so proud to have been a part of that.
Recorded Krista Tippett, On Being, recorded before a live audience, On Being with Krista Tippett, 26 July 2018 source ↗

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