"What Do You Think is The Most Interesting Thing About You?"

A little social experiment

“I’m crazy. I don’t have a normal thought process.” �" Codey, 22

Throughout my life, I’ve found out that inspiration is one of the most difficult things to obtain. As a writer, I’m absolutely nothing without it. So when this idea came to me, I had to move quickly, as inspiration often disappears just as quickly as it presents itself. As any good writer will tell you, the best way to write about things is to go and experience them yourself. So that’s where I got stuck, considering my life has been utterly mundane recently. Then I figured, hey, why not live vicariously through someone else? You may look at your life and think you’re the most boring person to ever walk the earth. But the truth is, every human is so peculiar and individual that no two lives are ever the same. Everyone has got stories that are their own. But, something we all have in common is that we want to be interesting. We want everyone who is on the outside looking in to think that we’ve got a lot of important attributes. So as the question swirled around my head, I figured it was time to stop asking myself and start asking other people. I took to social media asking friends, strangers, coworkers, and family members the same exact question.

“What do you think is the most interesting thing about you?”

It sounds like a pretty simple question. But if someone came up to you and asked you that right now, it would take you as a surprise. There were no parameters. I received anything from a 2 page response to just one word.

“Happiness.” �" Eddie, 25.

The answers were very in depth and serious, or just very simple things.

“My red hair.” �" Matt, 18

Either way, every answer I got was something people considered to be special and unique about them. I started off simple, asking those who were in my contacts. I was happily surprised to find that almost every single person I associate with in my private life considers themselves to be kind or compassionate

“I always try to be as nice to people as I possibly can, even if they don’t deserve it.” �" Sierra, 17

“Maybe my compassion.” �" Samantha, 18

They all picked things that I, from an outside perspective, wouldn’t have chosen for them myself. But one of the most interesting aspects of this experiment is how differently people see themselves. Through this process I constantly questioned if what people told me were what they thought to be the most interesting thing about them, or if it’s what people told them was the most interesting thing about them. I questioned people of all ages, including the 8 (and a half, she has corrected me) year old whom I live with. Her response was:

“Most people tell me that I’m not like the other kids and I’m really mature for my age.” �" Marina, 8½

I believe a lot of people have that same mentality; that’s interesting if someone tells you it is. But then that begs the question: Who gets to decide what’s interesting and what’s not?

I found it intriguing that many of the individuals I spoke to directly linked ‘interesting’ to ‘good’. People believed that the most interesting thing about them was the best thing about them. I was flooded with what one would consider “good qualities” when looking for a companion.

“Probably my trusting and calm personality.” �" Sarah, 18

“My love for humanity.” �" Angela, 23

“My ability to always stay positive.” �" Matt, 23

“My sympathy.” �" Natalia, 24

“The connection between my mind and my heart.” �" Nanci, 54

“I’m understanding. I understand a lot about what people are going through.” �" Allie, 17

Being that I mostly spoke with people under the age of 30, it made me happy that the newer generation is constantly finding the good in themselves and considering it the best thing about them. In a world full of hate and anger, I am relieved to see that many pride themselves on being positive and sympathetic. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was compelled by those who didn’t pick their best qualities as the most interesting. They picked the thing that set them apart from the others, good or bad. These answers were enticing to me just for the fact that they were honest.

“What I have to hide.” �" Danny, 20

“My experience in the church of scientology.” �" Katelin, 16

“I’m insane.” �" Yakov, 21

This may come as a surprise, but the majority of the people I questioned came off of Tinder. Who knew that that app had a purpose? It was there that I learned people love to talk about themselves. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, but throw out “social experiment” and everyone wants to partake in it. It didn’t matter that I was a complete stranger asking questions about their personal life. Everyone wants someone to listen.

“It’s definitely not something I love about myself but I’m pretty shy.” �" Danny, 19

I also learned that nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.

“I don’t really display emotion. I still have emotions but for some reason I am really bad at displaying them.” �" Ryan, 21

Ryan was the same person who had “weed is tight” as his bio. Something that I’ll take away from this is to always look below the surface. Even if it seems like somebody doesn’t have a lot going on upstairs, get to know them. Talk to them. Try to walk in their shoes.

As I stated before, nobody is exactly alike. We’re like some emotional, thoughtful, and secretive snowflakes. But through this study I found that there is always some part of someone I can also see in myself. We are all compiled of one another’s characteristics. It’s what we do with those characteristics that sets us apart. Like it or not, you have some things in common with even your worst enemy. Through this study I discovered the best way to get in touch with yourself is to get in touch with other people. And by now, you’re probably wondering what my answer to the question is. What’s the most interesting thing about me? Well, it’s simple. The most interesting thing about me is my interest in you.