At some point during your academic or work career, you’ve probably had to get to know other people in the form of icebreaker questions. These types of questions include those such as “What’s your favorite color?” or “What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?” If you’ve found yourself answering icebreaker questions many times, then chances are you’re sick of answering the same questions all the time.

Here are some of the best icebreaker questions you can ask the next time you find yourself getting to know people you’ve never met before. In addition, I’m providing my answers to these icebreakers not only as a way of getting to know me, but also for the purpose of jogging your brain so you can come up with the best responses.

What kind of car do you drive and how do you relate that to your character?
I came up with this icebreaker question two years ago for a leadership workshop during an introduction session with six other people. Since then, I’ve used it several times for classes and extracurricular activities. You learn a lot from bringing this up including the type of car people drive, the different personalities of those in your group and the various features that are included with their car as people relate their personalities back to their vehicles.

I drive a Buick Encore, which is a mini SUV that has a stellar safety rating, four wheel drive, good mileage and many sensors. I’ve always been someone who has to have everything in front of my face to feel productive and be successful.

In my car, these features make a positive impact on the way I drive since I use them all the time and haven’t gotten into an accident. My backup camera is a lifesaver. If it weren’t for that, my car would be pretty dented up from hitting other vehicles. I heavily rely on my lane departure and blind spot sensors especially while on the freeway.

If you can only describe yourself in three words, what would they be and why?
I like this one because it gives you a challenge of coming up with three words to describe yourself in the time it takes until it’s your turn to share your answers with the group. It’s interesting to see what people think of and you have the ability to compare and contrast your traits to others.

The words I would use to describe myself are ambitious, active and musical. I’m ambitious because, whenever I have to get an assignment done or am given a project to complete, I put 110% effort into it and don’t stop working on it until I’m satisfied with its quality. I’m also active because, aside from classes and writing for The Carroll News, I’m the President of the JCU Pep Band, a member of the JCU Improv Club and have two on-campus jobs. In addition, I’m very musical because I’ve been playing the clarinet for ten years and am in Pep Band, Wind Ensemble and the chamber group that plays for Sunday night mass.

What is your favorite Taylor Swift era?
Given that Taylor Swift has been a huge topic in the news since the start of her Eras Tour, I can’t not have an icebreaker question related to Taylor Swift. Plus, everyone and their brother seems to be into her music, so it is especially important to address this artist.

My favorite eras are 1989 and Speak Now. I enjoy listening to both of these albums so much that I simply can’t decide between the two. Taylor’s Version of 1989 releases on Oct. 27, which is something to look forward to in the midst of studying for midterms.

If you had the opportunity to time travel, when would you go and why?
I think it would be interesting to hear people’s input on this question since there are so many options to choose from. In addition, this helps with coming up with potential trip ideas and proposals for if time travel actually becomes a reality.

Personally, I would like to time travel to the early 2000s. As someone who was born in 2003, I’m interested in seeing how different life was when I first lived compared to our world today. I know this is random, but I miss those boxy 1990s-style televisions. Those defined the early 2000s era.

What colors are math, English, science and social studies?
I included this question because lately, I’ve been hearing students casually mention this in a conversation. When you were in elementary school, you probably had colored folders representing subjects. This is often seen as a topic for debate since people’s perceptions of each subject are different. Sometimes, it’s good to feel like a kid again by taking a moment to think about your experiences from elementary school.

My answers are as follows: math is blue, English is red, science is green and social studies is yellow. Since first grade, those have been my established colors and that will likely never change.