Optimistic, nurturing, enquiring.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this exact standing prompt.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Hungry, hard-working, cats.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 111 →Enthusiastic, resilient, empathetic.
Impulsive, enthusiastic, determined.
Lovely but useless.
More from Dawn O’Porter
View profile →Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.
The early days of motherhood. We lived in a sweet little bungalow in LA that had a pool. We threw lots of parties. We had a cute dog and a mad Siamese. Trump had never been president, we’d never heard of coronavirus, Claire’s Accessories was still going strong. Good times.
So far, getting older has made almost everything better.
When they ruin my story because they think theirs is better, so butt in before I’ve finished mine.
Perimenopausal anxiety, the terrible feeling of impending doom, something awful happening to my children, writing deadlines. Apart from that, I’m quite chilled.
My Siamese cat, which I had freeze-dried after she died. I really think their future partners will like it.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Milton Jones, Graydon Carter, Tuppence Middleton, Fiona Allen, Marcus Mumford, Denise Welch
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject