Hey there, Readers,
No long introduction here for this blog post… short and sweet — I’m a sucker for these question & answer surveys. I have been since Myspace days. Also, I’ve been meaning to create a blog post that was a little more lighthearted than my typical writing. Although, even though these questions are more lighthearted, they’re still pretty personal. Feel free to copy any/all questions and use them for yourself. It’s fun getting to know yourself through personality questions. It’s even more fun to share them with others who want to get to know you better too – win/win.
Enjoy!
(If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know I over talk, so I apologize in advance if you were expecting short answers)

1. What does your dream life look like? My dream life? I’m living my dream life and thats the truth. Not to be boastful, but what more could I ask for? I’ve been given two brand new lungs to keep me alive, a strong faith that gets me through every trial I’ve faced, a warm home, a loving family, a brother who isn’t just a sibling but a friend, generous and loving grandparents, a mom and dad who I’ve never once had to question their love and loyalty, a partner to share this life, good and bad with, friends, a purpose. It might sound corny but I literally could not dream up a better life. If we’re talking about the future, I do dream of having my own family someday. I have so much love in this little body… I want to give it all away… every ounce. (I wouldn’t mind a blue frenchie either as an addition to that future family)
2. What do you know to be true today that you didn’t know a couple years ago? I’ve recently realized something that I think I have actually known but never acknowledged. I know to be true that I, and anyone for that matter, if you believe with your whole heart and soul, can manifest things to actually happen in our lives. There’s a line in one of my favorite Disney movies, Halloweentown, where the Grandmom witch tells her magic grandkids that magic is simple, “all you have to do is want something and then let yourself have it.” Thats stuck with me literally since 98’ when I watched the movie for the first time.
3. In this very moment, name 3 things you’re most grateful for: First and most importantly, my health. You don’t realize how much of a blessing good health is until you don’t have it. Not suffering through each day to get to the next has been the biggest blessing in my life. Feeling strong because you can breathe is a feeling unexplainable to anyone who hasn’t lived fighting to stay alive. Second, obviously, my family. Not just blood. Those who treat me like family and the ones I could call at two in the morning if I needed somewhere to go… like my family the Grays and Lonergans. Third, I’m thankful that I was raised with a foundation of faith. I’m grateful that I was brought up introduced to, but not forced, to know and love the lord. It was my choice to grow my faith as I got older but I never would have made it a priority had my parents not sacrificed to build my foundation.
4. When/Where do you feel most in tune with yourself? Two places make me really at one with myself: first, alone in the chapel at Camilla Hall Nursing home. There’s some places where you close your eyes and your surroundings are so powerful that for a moment you forget where you are. I get so lost in wholehearted prayer here that it’s almost an out of body experience. The second place is alone on long car drives, windows down and wind on my face, singing something that gives me the feels… like every single Carrie Underwood CD ever released. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so in tune with myself more than on a solo drive.
5. What does happiness mean to you? Happiness. Plain and simple – when the fire in your soul is blazing and you know in your heart that even if it’s not right now, everything is going to be ok.
6. If life stopped today, what would you regret not doing? I love this question. If life stopped today I would be so absolutely positively satisfied with what I’ve accomplished here on this earth. I don’t regret doing, or not doing a single thing.
7. What are you most afraid of? As simple of a question as this sounds, its actually one of the deepest for me. My answer isn’t spiders or the dark. My biggest fear is being forgotten.
8. What quality do you admire most in others? There is one quality that I respect and admire amongst all others and its sincerity. I believe I’m a pretty good judge of character and I see right through fakeness and wrong intentions. I surround myself with sincere, genuine people who are real and kind.
9. Top three movies: Everyone makes fun of me for this first one but I don’t care, my favorite movie is “Signs.” Yes, the one about the aliens, but aliens aren’t why its my favorite. Its a movie I could watch a thousand times because the theme is about those of us who chose to see coincidence and those who chose to see signs. I’m a sign person. Second movie, Beauty and the Beast. It’ll never ever get old to me. And third is one you probably never heard of but its one of my all-time favorites and you should see it… Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.
10. What excited you the most? Adventure. I want to look back on this life and know that I’ve seen things, done things, learned new things, met new people in new places. I love nothing more than when my heart is racing from excitement. Riding on the back of a motorcycle on a beautiful sunny day, a hot air balloon ride, zip lining, jet skiing, visiting new cities and trying new foods. What is life without adventure?
11. Pretend money is no object, what would you do? So, my problem is that I already pretend money is no object and that gets me in trouble. But if were talking like an unlimited amount, I’d start my own nursing home for no cost to the patients and we’d have activities all day like bingo and ballroom dancing and pet therapy everyday.
12. What advice would you give to your 16 year old self….. how about your 21 year old self? Oh Lord, if only we could actually do this! I’d tell my 16 year old self to stop being in such a rush to grow up. Slow down and enjoy the ride. When I was 16, I was a completely different person. Thats because I grew up through my teens thinking I wasn’t going to make it to my 20s, so I tried so hard to cram every life experience in during those years and a lot of times it got me in trouble. My 21 year old self, same thing just about…. except I’d probably add a “stop dancing on the bar and call it a night,” somewhere in there.
13. How do you relax? Naps. Everyday. Naps.
14. Imagine yourself back in the 90s… What memories do you have? My whole childhood was in the 90s but there are some things that stick out above others. First being my Uncle Tom. He used to live with us in our Upper Darby house when life was so good. He taught me the words to the very first song I ever memorized: This is how we do it by Montell Jordan lol. I used to sing every word and had no idea what it meant. Another memory was one of my favorites, after school at St. Cyrils every Tuesday my dad used to pick me and Tommy up and take us to Johny’s Drive In… I’d get a cheeseburger and dad would get hotdogs. It was the highlight of my whole week. Then there was the Fridays me and my best friends in 8th grade would clean the convent. I’ll never ever forget running shoeless in our stockings through those hallways doing anything but cleaning — unfortunately it ended around the time Alexis and Leah knocked over a burning candle on the alter in the chapel and we almost burnt down the convent. Ah, good times.
15. Whats your favorite way to spend a Sunday? Lazy Sundays are happy Sundays. Recently, I like to lounge around with Steve now that we live together… make breakfast and drink our coffee in the morning… nap, and then go to his moms for Sunday night dinner. Its the little things in life that make it perfect.
16. Describe in detail your life 5 years from now: This one I’m choosing to skip. If I’m alive and well in 5 years thats plenty enough for me.
17. What sets your soul on fire? Excitement, adventure, love in all of its forms. I live my life in constant search of things that set my soul on fire, and when I find them, I don’t let go.
18. If you couldn’t fail, what would you do? Im not crazy about this question because winning wouldn’t be half as satisfying unless you know how it feels to fail. Since I’ve failed at this already, if I tried again and knew I couldn’t, I would become a published writer.
19.Your biggest day to day challenge? Had I been asked this question 4 years ago, boy would my answer. Be different. I would have said surviving to tomorrow was my biggest daily challenge. Not being able to breathe or thrive. Managing oxygen and a feeding tube, feeling weak. And hopeless. Today, I struggle with something that after realize what I used to deal with seems shallow. I struggle daily with self confidence and speaking up for myself — although, even though I struggle with it, I work on it just as equally.
20. Where do you find your purpose? My volunteer work. I have always said for the past ten years since I’ve started that I’ve found my calling with the elderly. Working in hospice care and volunteering at. Camilla for 10 years now has given me the greatest sense of purpose. The feeling of knowing you’re making a difference, a real difference, in this world is one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced.
21. If you won the lottery, would you keep working? Absolutely. I actually love working. I’d probably just. Volunteer but either way I would still stay active. Although I probably would end up having to keep working anyway considering the horrible way I spend money.
22. What’s your best friend like and where did you meet? I have two and they’re true earth angels to me. I couldn’t ever write an answer significant enough to explain them in a format like this.
23. Do you believe youre living a meaningful life? I wholeheartedly believe that every life, from Pope to a criminal, is meaningful. So yes, I live an extraordinarily meaningful life.
24. Name a few materialistic things you can’t live without: I could create an entire blog post out of this question alone, but here’s three things: 1, coffee – 2, self-tanner- 3, pictures
25. Whats something that offends you? Might sound silly but I have to admit, I’m completely turned off when men curse (not like hell or damn, but you know, like the big ones) in the presence of women. I think its rude and disrespectful. I also get pretty offended if someone is late for a meeting with me. I like my time respected.
26. What makes you feel most empowered? Honestly, another answer that might sound silly, but I feel most empowered when I take pride in my appearance. It empowers me to go to work everyday. When I put the time into my hair, makeup, and outfit, I feel unstoppable honestly. I FEEL CONFIDENT & that’s empowering.
27. Whats your ideal morning? I’ve lived it. Sweet and simplistic. A good cup of coffee outside on a porch, sun shining, gentle breeze blowing.
28. What is one of your long term goals? Long term goals? My health. Today and always I want to show my thanks to my lung donor by keeping myself healthy for as long as possible.
29. Name your greatest weaknesses: I wish the answer to this question was different but one of my biggest weaknesses is not speaking up for myself enough. I keep a lot in because there is almost nothing I hate more than controversy, but on the few times that I have spoken up for myself, its felt so empowering. I’m a work in progress.
30. What are you most proud of yourself for? Most proud? Where do I start? I imagine most of my readers would assume my answer to this would be my transplant journey, and of course, thats at the top of the list. My faith is another one. I’m proud that for the first time in my life I’ve allowed myself to accept love instead of turning it away because I was afraid of dying. But above all of these things… I’m just proud of who I am. I’ve fought my entire life to become who I am today and everything I mentioned, and all that I didn’t mention have contributed to that. IT’S NOT SELFISH TO BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE. I’ve learned that and I hope if there’s anything you take away from this blog today, that you realize you have a lot to be proud of yourself too.
Love & light 💕

Sam