Favorite

Two of the colors I most enjoy, but it doesn't end there!

I'm not an intensely private person - there's a few things I keep to myself, and I love my alone time, but generally I'm not even close to an enigma.  I wouldn't have a blog if I minded sharing details about what I'm interested in, and preferences.  Though I rarely post my quiz results here anymore (leave that for Facebook), online quizzes are a delightful time waster.

There's one problem with quizzes - and interviews, or conversations in general.  The dreaded question...

"What is your favorite ______________"?

This could be anything from color, to book, to scent, TV episode, even animal.  When I see this question, I blink first and then say, "Oh come on...."

Do people like to narrow down their lives this way?  Why must there always be a Number One?

It's particularly frustrating when it comes to the things I'm passionate about.  For instance, if I'm introduced to someone as a Book Person, I'm often asked either "What is your favorite book of all time?" or "Who is your favorite author?" How do I answer this?  This love can't be expressed in one or two sentences.  By pigeonholing this pursuit into such a narrow response, one is likely to receive a bumbling answer from me, or something some rambling they will want to move away, quickly...

I believe, and don't stone me for saying this, that someone with an easy answer to such questions is not really a Book Person.  Now, if I'm asked about a favorite genre, I'd likely say History, or Historical Fiction, though I'm not limited to these in my reading life.

Color is another problematic one.  Questions arise: favorite color to wear, to paint my walls in...what?  I have said before that my favorite color flower is yellow, and this continues to be true, but yellow is not my favorite color.  That would be green. Or purple.  Or sky blue.  See what I mean?  

Food?  Okay, I'm a lover of dairy products (not always a healthy thing).  But how do I pick between pizza and ice cream?  And chicken, the reason I've failed at being a vegetarian?

Scent?  I could go on and on.  Fresh cut grass, citrus fruits, lavender, fresh baked bread - and cats that smell like fresh baked bread...

Of course, tea.  A staple in my tea diet is English Breakfast, but I'd be bereft without Jasmine Green and Earl Grey.  Darjeeling, Rooibos Chai, I'm mean, it's all about mood baby!

This is also why I don't like the term 'best friend'.  I have friends that I absolutely love, and the ones that move far away break my heart.  How can I call any of them 'best'?  Doesn't that pull up a wall to anyone else?  

I'm rambling again, but my solution is to dispense with Favorite.  If I volunteer that something is my favorite - for instance, ducks are my favorite birds, then okay, but don't make me choose the top when there's so much room for variety up there.  How about "What are some of your favorite teas?  Which writer are you most in the mood for reading?  What kind of food are you craving at the moment?"

In then end, there can only be (more than) one.