Childhood Prompts

21. Describe your personality as a child. In what ways has it changed as you’ve gotten older? In what ways has it stayed the same?

As a kid I was probably the most honest child people had ever met. I would go up to people and just tell them my opinion, wanted or unwanted, and if someone wanted to know something I was sure to tell them the truth. Once, my mom and I were shopping in a village called Voorburg and we saw a couple who just got married coming out of the church. I, being the young girl that I was, thought it was so fairytale like and her dress was gorgeous. So what did I do? I just went up there and told the bride that her dress was beautiful. I have always been really upfront about my opinion and I still am. I am not afraid to say what I think and even though some people might not appreciate that, I don’t care. People tell me I am harsh and yes I am but at least people get my honest opinion and with everyone else just telling them what they want to hear nowadays.

23. Describe your most interesting relative.

My most interesting relative is also the youngest. It is my little sister (now nine!) and she is probably the smartest out of everyone. Compared to everyone else, obviously doesn’t have as much knowledge but goodness that kid is smart. She definitely will be the smartest out of everyone considering what she already knows.

27. Describe one of your first away-from-home experiences.

My first holiday was when I was three months old to Cannobio just across the border in Italy. I was brought up going on holiday a lot and I was really lucky to be able to travel so much. This has taught me to be away from home and it just feels natural to not be in the same place for a long time. I have been in Springfield now for four months and I am slightly freaking out because I am not used to being in one place for so long! In the time that I have been here, my parents and siblings have been to London three times already!
 
31. At what age did you learn to ride a bicycle?

I probably learned how to ride my bike without the training wheels at the age of three or four. Riding your bike is big in The Netherlands because we use it for everything and sometimes it is faster than it is going by car. We learn it at a young age because then we can go places with our parents and we can play outside and race each other. We are not allowed to drive until we’re eighteen and we don’t really need to drive any time before that. We use our bikes on a daily basis. Actually there are more bikes than people in the country and besides that we have a lot of public transport.

35. What frightening dream do you remember from your childhood?

When I was younger, around the ages eight to ten, I used to dream that I had to go to my parents funeral. One of them would die and I would wake up crying. I always got out of bed to go downstairs where both of my parents were together healthy and very much alive. I would always sit on the lap of the parent that had ‘died’ in my dream and they would just let me cry until I was done. To me it seemed like it happened all the time.