Eddie Menuek - Lilly Friend Project

Preliminary Questions

Do you live within a thirty-minute radius/are you comfortable commuting to Murray Hill or elsewhere in Manhattan to hang out with me?

[REDACTED]

Are you crazy?

Yes No

Can you supply a personal website or social media profile?

[REDACTED]

Once I review your application, I will reach out to have a more formal, sit-down interview to be my friend in Manhattan. This interview will be videotaped and I will be posting the footage on social media. Are you able to report to Manhattan and spend at least an hour for the interview?

Yes No

Open Questions

Why are you filling out this questionnaire?

It was pass my hour of sleep when I saw the post and saved it to fill it out later. That whole week I was thinking about friends and how difficult it is to establish friendships in this city but also how little effort I was putting into actually going out and trying to talk to people my age. Then I came across your post and here I am curious about what you’re trying to do.

How many "close friends" (by close friends I mean people that you see more than twice a month if they live in the tri-state area or if they are a long-distance friend that you speak with at least twice a month) do you have?

I got 4 close friends we speak or FT all the time. They all live out of the country.

Do you listen to Billie Eilish? If so, why?

Eh no…

It's Saturday morning! What time are you up and what do you want to do with the day?

Usually around 9 am. I wanna go for a walk, cook breakfast, read go lay in the park. If there’s a fun party or event head out there and dance for a bit.

Have you ever had an existential crisis? How did it come about and what was your ultimate takeaway from it?

Yes… I had my biggest existencial crisis when I suddenly lost my partner two years ago. I basically had to re parent myself and go through it on my own way. I found myself not fitting into the books or Ted talk advice so I just did what felt right at the moment and my ultimate take away is that at your lowest or highest grace and compassion are your best ally.

You are at a party and a topic comes up that you could go on and on and on about that nobody else knows anything about. What is the topic and would you talk about it or not talk about it?

The topic is probably something paranormal and I wouldn’t start just talking about it lol

What do you think about feminism? How did you come to that conclusion?

I see feminism as a huge part of modern societies. I believe that its core purpose is to raise awareness on the inequality caused by patriarchal systems. And I see feminism evolving different according to societal needs ( although technology is making us have some cultural closeness). I was born and raised in Ecuador and a lot of people from my generation take pride in sexist behaviors stuff I haven’t really experience living in Nyc.

If there was an alternate reality in which you had a debilitating, life-altering addiction, what would you be addicted to?

Hmmm…. Video games

What are your dreams?

I dream of belonging to a nourishing community that is also funny. Also I dream of building a house in the countryside but never abandoning the city, just leaving when it’s too much.

Do you believe in ethical consumerism or is it a drop in a giant well that has already been dug by multinational corporations so it doesn't matter?

I believe in ethical consumerism for sure just for the sake of my own conscience. Also fuck selfish big corporations, that’s a long conversation

Multiple-Choice Questions

What qualities are most important to you in a friend

Loyalty Honesty Humor Inspiration A and B C and D

What is the worst thing on this list

Processed sugar Stubbing your toe Throwing up Your mom(or another parental type figure) telling an old embarrassing story in front of new people Realizing you were scammed out of $30

Work is:

A means to an ends A way I bring my passions to life Something I do to better society A total bummer A myth that allows rich people to steal from poor people

Which poet's writing do you most connect with?

Sylvia Plath Rumi Rupi Kaur Rainer Maria Rilke Pablo Neruda

Do you feel like you've lived one life or lots of lives?

Lots of lives Once life I don't think about it like that I don't feel like I am living I am too busy living to think about it

How do you feel about answering all these questions:

Annoyed Intrigued Resentful Inspiration Excited to meet in person Neutral

Aristotle once said; "my friends, there are no friends." How do you feel about that:

Agree Disagree Neutral That's so cold and unfeeling! Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form. Form is not other than emptiness

Essay Question

Please describe a friend breakup you have gone through. If you haven't gone through a friend breakup, please explain why you think you have never gone through a friend breakup. Outline a major friendship in your life and explain why it is successful.

Wow.
I saw my first best friend in the world as my sister. I wish she knew this. We knew each other since pre-k. But were cruising our teenage years together when our bond became stronger. At some points I lived with her, we slept together, shared clothes and playlists and her parents were scared that she loved/liked me as something else lol. I love talking and naturally told her everything, I had no secrets with her. But she sometimes hid stuff from me that I only knew off when she was in real trouble and she needed me by her side. I never cared about this because I felt that it was the way she was and justified her behavior with her very religious family and the shame that comes with growing up in such household. Things started to fall apart when she missed my graduation party in a really awkward way, I called her and her then bf picked up the phone and told me she wasn’t coming. I cursed him off and she cut ties with me for months. When they broke up we saw each other at the mall and hug we started hanging and talking like before. Then I moved to the US and after a few months of me been here she just completely disappeared from my life. I couldn’t reach her or anything. It really broke my heart. Three years later I finally found a social media profile and reached out. We talked on the phone. She told me the reason why she ended our friendship and I almost fall off the sit. It was because she had started a relationship with a toxic dude that i didn’t even know but he was friends with one of my exes so she assumed I knew him. Apparently he told her that I had been texting him flirty stuff. I was shocked! I couldn’t believe I suffered for something that didn’t even happened. Also bitterly relief that I didn’t loose an awesome friend. :(