Ask Me a Question!

Posted on September 21, 2020    Posted by      80 Comments

Athena ScalziHey, everyone! Today I thought I’d mix it up and have a Q&A. I’ve been writing on the blog for over a month and a half now, and I thought to myself, these people read my posts, but how much do they really know about me? Obviously, you probably know at least some stuff, considering how much my dad has posted about me in the past, or if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then you probably know a considerable amount! But I thought it would be fun to open up more and have y’all learn some trivial information about me.

So, if you would like to know something, leave me a question in the comments! Please leave only one question, but it can be about any topic! You can ask me about writing, my home life, my favorite ice cream flavor, or even something philosophical or political — but note, since this will be for just one entry, my response will probably only be a paragraph, at most. I plan to pick a handful of questions and answer them all in a post sometime next week. Fair warning that your question may not be picked, but I will definitely read all of them.

And as always, have a great day!

-AMS

Category: Athena Scalzi    

80 Comments on “Ask Me a Question!”

  3. What’s something you do that reminds you the most of your parents, or maybe that you learned from them? What’s something else you do that you can’t imagine your parents doing now, or ever having done at all?

  5. Are you thinking of being a writer, like your dad, or other things? If you want to be a writer what genre? If other things, I dunno, Wall Street pays smart people well.

    Or I hear Organic Honey sells well in Ohio (not kidding, the wife and I bought a bottle at a cute stop in the middle of a 300 mile drive that gave an excuse to get out and walk around.

  6. So… what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? (can’t believe no one else has asked that already)

    And, has that changed over the years?

  7. What were you planning to major in and do you think that the events of 2020 (and probably early 2021) or your experiences taking this “gap” year will change your plan?

  8. I suspect you may get asked this a lot, but I am curious how you felt about your Dad’s work Zoe’s sotry and if she is in any way like you or not

  9. How are you thinking about the COVID times – as something that we will get through and return to more-or-less normal, or as a game-changer?

  10. What are your thoughts about growing up in a rural area – plusses, minuses, whether you ultimately want to stay or move to a different setting? (As someone who grew up in rural Wisconsin until age 11, then moved to suburban Maryland, it was quite a transition…)

  11. Any fun (and publicizable) hijinks from your first year at school?

    What was your favorite Christmas/birthday present, and why?

  13. Do they still have that place with the neon “burritos as big as your head” sign in Oxford? (My brother moved away years ago and so the burritos in my life have all been regular-sized since.)

  20. Do you think the best way for readers to get to know you is through answering general questions, or by reading your work and seeing how you reveal yourself through your writing? Is it your opinion that these are complementary? How do you wish to communicate yourself?

    (If the above is coming across as snarky I don’t mean it to. I mean it in a general philosophical way.)

  23. In college, did you have a “meaning of life” discussion? I told my niece to join a club if she wanted such conversations. This after she complained about how mundane students were.

  26. Are you still consternated with Kristoff’s power ballad in Frozen II? I am GenX, like your father before you, and that sequence remains in my Top 10 Disney Princess Moments – is this a generational thing maybe?? lol

  27. Unlike many people you’ve had the chance to meet many authors through your dad. How has meeting those writers impacted reading their fiction, if it has at all?

  28. Someone already asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?,” but you are, in fact, technically “grown up” already. (I won’t impose the label if you don’t identify with it, though; I’m 28 and definitely don’t feel like a real adult in a lot of ways!) So, what *did* you want to be when you grew up, when you were a kid, and how did those hopes inform/lead to your current career/life goals?

  30. For my generation (born 61), the defining change has been the shift from the age of industry to the age of IT.
    What do you think the defining shift for your generation is/will be?

  32. You are kinda nerd-famous once removed (though becoming more known in your own right esp. over the last month)… do strangers ever recognise you in the street, and is that kinda creepy if they do?

  39. How did you pick the college you attended last year? (For me, I went to the very big state school in the state where I lived, the school where my parents met, so it has always seemed like I had a boring decision and everybody else must have a more interesting thought process. That being said, I loved that school, it was great for me.)

  40. It sounds like you live in an area where your neighbors are rather more conservative than your parents. Has growing up there pulled your politics to the right of your parents as well?

  41. What’s your favourite country – and what country do you most want to visit that you haven’t yet?

  44. You are the same age as my son (born 1998).
    I’m wondering if you feel like social media is a net positive on society as a whole and individuals in specific; or is social media a social ill? And please define social media as you see it.

  49. If you were an ascended god of an alien species who were infiltrating post-apocalyptic humanity via song, what song would you use and why?

  50. Who will you vote for, and more importantly, why? When i ask most younger people none seem to have a very good answer, or just say they do not vote. I am curious to hear what you think.

  52. How did your powerlifting turn out? Your dad mentioned a few years back that you lifted. Any plans to continue?

  57. How do you find it to come up with subjects to write about in this blog – hard, easy, something else?

  58. How do you feel about being photographed so thoroughly, by you dad? Is having a camera in your face something you had to get used to, or has it been like that as long as you can remember? My uncle was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and I remember my cousins being a lot more natural in front of cameras than I and my siblings were (and more photogenic, possibly owing to that fact).

  59. Ever tried making music? If not, do you think you might give it a try? (If you have, and I missed it, sorry!)

  60. Hi Athena,

    a question: What’s it like being your age in the US right now? I’m from Europe and not in my twenties anymore, and I find what’s happening in your country in equal parts strange and terrifying.

    Cheers,

    Markus

  61. You were a vegetarian and stopped, weren’t you? What are your reasons then and now and what are your opinions on the ethics of meat consumption?

  63. A magical spell has been cast upon you! You must now choose any one person living or dead, and fight them to the death in an arena and weapons of your choosing. At the conclusion of the death match you will both be magically reincarnated, and treated to a sumptuous brunch before being returned to your respective realities unharmed. The evil wizard who has cast this spell on you has tied it’s fulfillment to an adorable kitten. If you refuse the deathmatch the kitten will be…. (lets not go there, but the wizard implies unpleasantness.)

    So, who do you choose, what are the terms of the death match, what do you talk about over lunch, and how do you see the scenario playing out?

    Ps. I just went through this, be sure and try the lox during brunch.

  64. Do your parents appear to be as soppily in love (and I mean that in a good way) in real life as your father, at least, appears to be here on Whatever?

  68. Ukelele: Fun musical instrument or portal into the fires of an audio hellscape mortal folk can barely fathom?

  69. What do your friends think about your Dad’s (and your own for that matter) internet fame, does it affect your day to day life much?

  70. When you’re at the point of living independently in your own place, what kind of pet will you want to have, and why?

  72. If there was ONE thing you could make all fellow beings do, or alternately stop doing, what would it be? Why?

  77. Expansion on the first question – do you read much science fiction: If so, what sub-genre do you like, why do you like it, etc.
    Bonus question: do you like that Scalzi guy’s writing? :p

  78. Hi, Athena.

    All things being normal and safe, what advice would you offer scared college freshmen to help them make the transition from high-school to college?

    I ask because I’m an instructor and would like students to hear from someone who has been there within the last decade; it’s been about eighteen years for me. 😊

  79. Based on some of your posts, you have quite different musical taste than your dad. Have you attended/listened to any of his dance DJ’ing at cons, and if so, what did you think of that event and the music?

  80. Do you believe in life after death? if not, where do you think people (loved once) who already passed away are now?

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John Scalzi, proprietor – JS
Athena Scalzi, contributor – AMS
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