Identity & self

Who raised you, and how did their work and example shape the way you lead today?

What is your strongest reason for seeking this office now?

How would you sum yourself up in three words?

As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself?

When were you most charged up in the last few years — and what were you actually doing, not what you wish you were doing?

What do you fear most?

Which trait in yourself do you like least?

What did you love doing as a child that you stopped — and when you stopped, was it worth it?

What most recently moved you to tears?

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

What fills you with the most pride?

What does happiness look like for you when life is going well?

How would you describe yourself as a writer — your voice, your approach, and the subjects you keep returning to?

How much of your own life finds its way into your writing, even when the work is fictional, academic, historical, or far from autobiography?

What has being a writer taught you about yourself — and how has it changed the way you observe people and the world?

Outside of writing, what might surprise or interest readers about you — a profession, hobby, obsession, or part of life that shaped who you became?

What makes a place feel like home to you now?

What became easier or harder to express when you began living in another language or dialect?

When did you first feel that you belonged, and what made that moment possible?

Which part of your old professional identity did you keep, and which part did you have to release?