The Desert Island Game: A little bit about me!

One of my favorite things to do at camp is called the Desert Island Game.  It is similar to a name circle (you know; name, where you’re from, favorite ice cream, etc), but really raises the stakes.  See in the Desert Island game, you are obviously trapped and can’t get off, and I just ask a series of questions like: “If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take                                         , what would you choose?”  In this blank, there are hundreds of different questions or scenarios that I can then propose, and it usually ends up with a pretty good conversation.  So, in today’s blog, I am going to play the Desert Island Game with myself. 

Question One: You are sentenced to life on a desert island and must choose 3 three books to bring with you, which books would you bring? (Assuming that I don’t need survival guides)      1. The Bible:  I would bring the Bible with me for many of the obvious reasons.  It is long, important, and full of important knowledge.  I feel like I would learn something new each time I read it, which is definitely a positive.  Plus, it is bulky and heavy and could make for a nice weapon if it really came down to it.

2   2.  Harry Potter Anthology:  Is this cheating? You can be the judge, but I’m going to say no…  Harry Potter is such a great series!  There are enough of them that I feel that I could cycle through and not get bored, and by the end of time (or my rescue) I will really know them very well.  At least I’ll be thoroughly entertained. 

     3.  The Great Gatsby:  I know this book is definitely mildly depressing, which violates my no depressing books rule, but it’s SO GOOD!  I have read it a couple of times and each time I learned something new.  It was one of the few books that was assigned in high school that I took the time to read fully.*

Question Two: You are stuck on a Desert Island, and can choose 1 fictional (book) character to take with you as company.  Who would you bring? (None of the options can be chosen strictly for survival)

Bill Weasley: What!?  Bill Weasley?? Of all the characters you could have chosen!? Why not Harry Potter!?  Here’s my argument for Bill: _1. No matter what Harry Potter is doing, it always seems like his life is in peril.  Whether it is quidditch, sleeping, hanging out with friends, talking with snakes, he just doesn’t have the best of luck. _2.  The Weasleys are really cool, nice people.  So choosing one of them was a no brainer.  Then I had to determine which one:

a.       Molly:  She’s too high strung and over protective.

b.      Arthur: For all of his good qualities, he is a little bit too bumbling and odd.  I feel as though he would ask too many questions about my muggle-ness

c.       Charlie: I’ll be honest, Charlie was a very close second for me.  He seems like a pretty rad dude, you know… with all the dragon training and stuff.  But when it was all said and done, he may be a little bit too hardcore for me.

d.      Percy: Hard no…  I mean, there was a period of time when he was estranged from his family who is accepting of almost everybody.  Percy seems like a real stickler and softy. 

e.      Fred and George:  I’ll group them together because they’re so similar.  They seem a little bit too silly to be stuck with forever.  After the 10^th prank, I would start getting mighty tired of their ways. 

f.        Ron:  Ron is a baby.  He spends much of the books sulking about not finding the right love, getting another thoughtful sweater from his mother, not being Harry Potter, not making the quidditch team, the list goes on and on.  Luckily he ended up with Hermione, or he would’ve been one tragic, depressing dude.

g.       Ginny: Ginny is Harry Potter’s lady, and I’m afraid if we spent too much time together she would seriously reconsider her deep love for HP.  I can’t break that kind of Bro Code

_3. While Bill may be the least well documented Weasley, he is clearly super cool.  He married Fleur, who is a well-documented hottie, he survived a werewolf attack, and the film producers liked him so much they hired high quality actor, Domhnall Gleeson, to capture his likeness.  For those reasons, Bill was the logical choice for me!

Honorable mention:

Alaska Young: My first and only literary crush.  Reading Looking for Alaska as a sophomore in high school, I wanted nothing more than to meet Alaska fall for her as hard as Miles Halter did.  Assuming that we are the same age on the island, I would happily be stuck with this edgy chick.

Sherlock Holmes:  While Sherlock can be off-putting to some, I feel like his vast depth of knowledge would be really nice to have while stuck on an island.  I’m sure we would have our fair share of disagreements, but I think he would make for an amusing island partner.

Ser Gerris Drinkwater:  This is an obscure Song of Ice and Fire reference here.  Gerris is a close friend of Quentyn Martell (not in the TV show) and is known to be a cunning and crafty guy.  While I would never choose a main character from the Ice and Fire series for fear (and knowledge) that they would likely die a horrible and unexpected death, a lesser character seems a safer bet.  In a world that is filled with mostly negative folk, the Dornish (most) seem to enjoy life and keep things a little bit lighter.  Gerris strikes me as the most “bro-like” character, and for that reason he would be in consideration to hang with me on the island.

Question Three:  You can bring a five song playlist with you.  What songs are on it? (Battery life isn’t an issue)

1.     1.  Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap.  This song is timeless for me.  It is simple and beautiful.  I have listened to it hundreds of times and don’t get tired of it.   While it is kind of depressing, I think that I can make an exception just so I can continue listening to it.

2.     2.  Rhapsodyin Blue by George Gershwin.  Talk about timeless.  This song is literally nearly 100 years old.  I love the way that it implements elements of jazz as well as classical composition.  It is a great song to listen to any time of the day.  There are many classical songs that I could have chosen, but I really think this one is my favorite… (Also love what they did on Fantasia 2000... click on link above)

3.     3.  Hips Don’tLie by Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean.  When I am on an Island, I am going to want to dance, and what song is better to dance to than Hips Don’t Lie?  Great beginning, middle, and end, and even comes with a little Spanish.  I love the way it starts with the trumpets and keeps you dancing all the way through.  I also love Shakira (maybe she can come to the island with me).

4.     4.   A-Punk by Vampire Weekend.  I discovered this song my senior year in high school (thanks to Isaiah).  Ever since that discovery, I have never grown tired of this song.  In fact, for many years, I used it as my alarm clock in the mornings.  There is nothing quite like waking up to Ezra Koenig’s upbeat driving guitar line of that song.  It just made me want to take the day by the horns.

5.     5.  Shout by Isley Brothers.  I guess I wanted to dance a little bit more.  This classic rock hit is SO good.  I can listen to it over and over again and never grow tired of it.  This is 100% going to be in my wedding playlist (when it comes time for that).  It is also one of the best party anthems of all time.  Whenever I hear the first word (WELLLLLLLLLLLLLL….)  I immediately get excited for what’s coming next.  I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like this song.  I was once at a party where it got played probably 5 times in an hour or so, and each time, people got more excited.  I am and will always be all in on Shout! 

I have written enough words today, so this is where I will end.  I really enjoyed doing this post though, so I may do others that are similar.  If any readers want to pose questions, I will do my best to answer them!!

Until next time!

*When I was in high school, I enjoyed to read and in fact, read often, but I was never a huge fan of having to read the books that were assigned to me.  In hindsight, I wish I had read them more carefully, but what can you do?