Can you share a lesson that you learned later in life and how it has impacted your current lifestyle, mentality, or attitude?

Many people especially girls will be able to connect with this answer.

It has been an easy life.

But my mind wouldn’t let go of it.

Why do you think it is bad to allow people to self-identify as a different gender?

It’s very freeing.

I was always that one eager person to help someone in need without realising the consequences it might have. I have helped people from Quora & other places during the time when I had nothing on me. I couldn’t say No when a man manipulated me into giving him a huge amount for his daughters education during Covid. I later got fed up asking him to return. He returned after two years. His wife was a working lady at a good corporate place. He lied to me as he wanted money for his alcohol addiction

Everytime I said yes when I wanted to say no, I paid the price.

Can you write a letter to your first love without mentioning his/her name?

I have ruined my sleep & rest hours with nonsense calls from nonsense people. No matter what the time, I have picked up their calls & listened to their rant for hours. I could not be blunt saying, ‘no am not interested in talking’

I couldn’t say No to strangers talking & invading my personal life. It made me uncomfortable but somehow I entertained forcibly. This made me realize that I was an easy target for them. They thought of me as an easy prey. This always ended up hurting me because I knew there should be a boundary set , yet I couldn’t set it as I was just a naive small town girl

This is how I paid for not being able to say NO.

What is the sum of X+XX+XXX+XXXX?

It drained me, messed with my peace, and cluttered my mind with unnecessary stress.

It’s very refreshing.

No meant she is being rebellious.

Should I have left it alone and kept quiet? I came out as gay to my adult kids last week. Age 61 married 15 years, divorced for 20. I feel so guilty for ruining their lives by living a lie.

No is a complete sentence & it should not be just used for CONSENT for sex.

I am thankful to my profession & how I started from scratch that I was able to become so blunt & straight forward.

It’s very freeing.

Why do nice guys rarely or never win?

It’s very settling.

I always felt obligated to be polite, to be accommodating, to be the “nice” person because the dictionary of ‘good girl’ means they should be accommodating according to the society.

But here’s the hard truth I learned much later in life.

How did you get to be a leftist?

I lost a lot of money trying to fit in. I don’t like expensive English meals at fancy restaurants. But my friends did. I couldn’t say No thinking I would be judged. But I love ‘Desi food’. I didn’t enjoy the food, & I ended up paying huge split bills so many times

Whether it was a friend asking for a favor, an invitation I didn’t feel like accepting, or even a stranger requesting my time, I hesitated to say no

I lost a lot of my time to help, keeping my needs aside & the favour was never returned because most people took my time for granted & I also hesitated to ask for help

Why has Biden pulled ahead in battleground states and is now projected to win the 2024 presidency?

I would spend hours, sometimes days, replaying the decision in my head, regretting my response, wishing I had been honest.

I used to be the kind of person who found it incredibly hard to say no. I would keep people’s feelings above mine.

-Smita Mishra

What was the most inappropriate thing your parent caught you doing as a teen? Was in the bedroom, I thought nobody else was home. My sister and I shared that bedroom but I knew she was gone. I didn’t know my dad was home though.