For Easter Break this year, a couple of friends and I decided to drive up to Canada for a few days to experience a new city. Leaving campus at 5:30 p.m. for an eight hour road trip meant we had to take creative measures to make sure we all stayed awake for the duration of the drive. Blasting loud music and singing at the top of our longs got old about four hours in, so we decided to go another direction and just ask each other extremely personal and deep questions, because what else is a road trip for, really? Questions ranged from goofy to absurd, but one stood out to me more than any other: if you could invite three people, dead or alive, to a dinner party, who would you invite and why? Given my tendency towards over thinking and indecision, this was a tough one. After all, there have been a lot of people who have walked this earth and made a difference. Should I go personal, i.e. dead family members, or more big picture? In the end, I came up with my three. Some or all might seem pretty obvious or generic, but I don’t really care, because it’s my dinner party, and I’ll invite anyone I want.
My first guest would definitely be the type to show up an hour early just to make sure they were able to help me set up and cook, and that would be Jesus. Believer or not, you cannot deny what an amazing experience it would be to sit down and share a meal with the very man to whom billions have dedicated their lives. I honestly don’t know what type of things I’d talk to him about. Would I fact-check, or is that what faith is for? I think I’d definitely just unload everything on my plate about life — my worries, guilt, aspirations, etc. Perhaps I’d merely ask him what he thinks of the present, whether he is satisfied, disappointed or hopeful. Overall, I would be perfectly happy to sit and listen to his stories and lessons for hours upon hours (I guess I would need to get a translator, though, because Traditional Hebrew isn’t on my schedule until next semester). One thing is for certain — we wouldn’t run out of any wine.
For the next guest, I knew I wanted someone from American history, and it didn’t take me long to settle upon Abraham Lincoln. I considered some of the founding fathers, but chose Honest Abe because of his experience. He had to hold the nation together as it quite literally fell apart, and try to heal the wounds of a horrific civil war. Given today’s less than hospitable political climate, it’d be pretty interesting to hear the perspective of a man who has seen it all. I am always curious about what these great historical figures would think about our country’s present situation, if they would think we have moved in the right direction since their time as leaders. I’m not positive what Lincoln would say, but I’m fairly confident that he’d be optimistic. If nothing else, he’d be great company for all the funny anecdotes and stories he’d share.
This last guest took me the longest amount of time to settle upon. After all, I only had one more choice and thousands of options running through my head. After going pretty big-picture for the first two guests, I allowed myself a sort of “guilty pleasure” guest. Being very into film and comedy, I figured I wanted to invite one of the greats, but that didn’t narrow it down much for me. After agonizing meditation, I settled on Robin Williams. I remember exactly where I was when I found out he died, and still tear up any time he’s on screen. “Good Will Hunting” is one of my top-five favorite movies of all time, and “Dead Poet’s Society” was pretty much my mantra in middle school. Aside from his more serious roles, however, the man was a comedic genius. His ability to improvise was something I could only dream of attaining someday, and his physicality and wit were equally stupendous. I think we’d have almost too much to discuss and laugh about, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what life is all about?
So there you have it. One girl’s dream dinner party guest list. I’m sure If you were to ask me again next week, I’d have a completely different line-up, but as for right now, this is what stands as true. Next time you’re stuck in a car for hours, or just bored in a lecture, give it a shot and try to select the three people you’d invite to dinner.
