"What's Your Deepest Darkest Secret?"

I remember in my youth having "sleep-overs" with my BFF and we'd talk all night long about anything and everything.

I remember slumber parties with handfuls of girls, chatting, laughing, playing games. But the biggest game of the night was always a question:

"What's Your Deepest Darkest Secret?"

And we'd all have one, even though we were all like 11, 12, 13. The secrets were rarely very deep nor very dark, but they were ours to share with each other.

I think that the curiosity to discover other people's lives decreases with age.

Or maybe we want to discover, but now that we're older just coming out and asking what someone's secrets are can lead to very dangerous territory--either because you'd have to find them help or it would be TMI (aka some weird STD or fetish or clown obsession etc).

Sometimes when I chat with people I feel blind-sighted. They ask me a question, a simple question and I can't think of any type of intellectual response. Or even a dumb response. I just sort of mumble something, then, later when I lay in bed late at night I come up with a Larry David line or a Janeane Garofalo response and I think, damn, I should really become a comedian, if only I could reply faster, quicker, easier than I do in public.

But maybe there's something to the art of conversation. It's difficult with facebook. You can know what "friends" likes without ever asking them. Friends update their problems or happinesses before even anyone even sees them in "live" format. So coming up with things to talk about becomes an exercise in creativity.

And because I love a good conversation (and a good slumber party, hint hint), I've come up with ten questions to spark more intriguing dialogue if you are like me and ever get stuck (or bored).

1) Have you ever been in a fight, (a physical fight)?

2) Where’s the weirdest place you’ve done it?

3) If you could be any feminist which feminist would you be and why?

4) If Mother Teresa and Jesus were in a mud wrestling competition who do you think would win and why?

5) If you could do it all over again (and you couldn't pick going into the current field you’re in) what would you pick instead and why?

6) Who is your favorite philosopher and why?

7) Who is your favorite feminist and why? or If you were a riot grrrl song, what would you be?

8) If you were magically transformed into a alcoholic beverage, what would you be and why?

9) If you could pick anywhere in the world to live, where would you choose and why?

And if by this time the person seems, not so crazy, then hit'em with the big one:

10) What’s your deepest darkest secret?

Want to know mine?