If you could have dinner with someone, who would it be?

If I could choose anybody to have dinner with I would like to get dinner with Henri Cartier-Bresson. Henri Cartier-Bresson is a French photographer that introduced the concept of photojournalism even though that is not how he described his work. I think he was a person that was very simple and at the same time everything he says makes perfect sense. If you get the opportunity to look him up on YouTube you would see what I am talking about.

You know those teachers who get really excited while talking about the subject they teach? I used to have a math teacher who would just stop during an explanation, look at the board and tell himself how beautiful that was and just be totally amazed by mathematics. Henri Cartier-Bresson was like this too; you could see how passionate he was about photography, through his work and his statements. But he was never making a big deal out of it, always simple and humble. This kind of people are really inspiring to me. They teach you to go for what you love doing.

In photography class last semester we watched a documentary of Cartier-Bresson with his own commentaries in English. It is always a little weird to hear people of your own language talking English but it's also funny. So during that dinner I would hope that we could only speak English for more fun (his accent is priceless).

Rather than asking him about his work, I would get the opportunity to ask him about everything else in life. You can read about his work everywhere already. He is a man that has been traveling all around the world spending long lengths of time in countries to be fully immersed in the cultures. He probably has a lot to talk about. Moreover, whenever he is talking about his vision of life he is the kind of person that makes you smile because he brings back up the simplicity of living that we sometimes forget.

Since we are both French, I can perfectly imagine the dinner we would have. We would be sitting on a porch in the south of France. The cicadas would be singing and we would just drink wine, eat saucisson and cheese and we would both be wearing berets and holding a baguette. Or maybe not, I think I am getting carried away now.

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Daniel Eckert

A-Team Member

I may break the rules of this situation because if I could spend time with one person and do anything, it would be with my boyfriend, Damian, on our dream road trip to the best food places.

Damian and I are always watching shows like "Man vs. Food" and "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." We love learning about all of the fantastic restaurants and local shops across the country. At the same time, however, we hate it since we don't have the money to do a grand road trip. Damian and I plan to live somewhere in New York and somewhere in the future we want to go down the east coast, stopping to eat at all the places we've only seen on television.

If I could end up doing that right now I would take that offer in an instant. I absolutely love to travel and learn about new things, and my favorite new thing to learn about is food. I wouldn't care if I gained fifty pounds on this road trip, I would still go as far as I could and eat as much as I could. Damian would get burgers and pizzas while I get pastas and barbeque. We would share our desserts and take bits of each others plates to get the full experience. When it's time for the next stop we would plan out the city and then we would ask around for the best places to eat from all of the locals.

Some of the most informative locals would more than likely be the college kids if we ended up going to a college town like Raleigh, N.C. or New Haven, Conn. As I've seen from my time here, college goers have very big opinions on the best places to eat and, in some towns, have made it to where two restaurants that were just minding their own business suddenly turn into rival companies and compete on a day to day business.

Though for a road trip, the biggest attraction to me is to see the towns and landscapes themselves. I want to see how different, or similar, a town may be in another state compared to what I'm used to here in Missouri. I haven't been out of this state hardly at all and the couple times I have, it was completely amazing to see how the landscape went from plains and grasslands to foggy mountains or vast desert roads. Traveling is always a thrill and what better way to spend that thrill than with a good meal and the best boyfriend I could ever ask for.

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Madison Boemecke

A-Team Member

If I could have a whole evening with anyone, dead or alive, it would most definitely be with Ryan Gosling because who wouldn't have dinner with him? He's charming, adorable and everyone knows he's a gentleman, not to mention his washboard abs and perfect body. Just about every other girl in the world would take this kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm not going to pass it up either.

Ryan would pick me up in his snazzy, expensive vehicle, open every door for me and just be the perfect human being that he is. We would go out to dinner somewhere extremely fancy, he'd pay for the check, of course, and I would most likely fall in love.

After dinner, we would act out scenes from "The Notebook" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love" because he's going to insist on me co-starring in his next romantic comedy movie -- me being the love interest of course, which means I'm going to need tons of practice.

Once Ryan and myself have finished acting, he'll drive me back home, walk me back up to my front door, kiss my hand and say "I had a lovely time" then get in his car and drive away.

This sexy hunk would easily be the best dinner date I would ever have. I'm pretty positive no one would ever be able to top this one. Ryan Gosling, if you are reading this, call me.

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Amber Cason

A-Team Member

If I had to have dinner with anyone in the world, living or dead, I would have to have dinner with Joanne Rowling or as she is better known, JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

As someone who hopes to be a writer, an avid dreamer, and a huge fan of hers, it would be a dream come true if I were able to have dinner with her and was able to talk with her about how she writes, her life, and anything else I could think of.

Her work and her life are inspiring and amazing. Before she became the woman we all know and love today, she was a little known author and mother who fell on hard times and had to depend on the kindness of others for help. After finally completing the first Harry Potter she spent so much time pitching the book to any and every publisher she could, only to be told no, time and time again.

Many told her that it just wasn't good enough or that because she was a woman only female readers would buy her books so they were not interested, but having faith in herself and her work, she then decided upon the pseudonym we know her by today, JK Rowling and her book was quickly picked up and published and became one of the most popular books of all time.

JK Rowling's books and films have inspired me since I was young. They have taught me to face my fears head on, realize my value and intelligence as a woman, that true friends will always be there for me, and that I am capable of more than I think.

JK Rowling the person has taught me the importance of perseverance, believing in yourself, and giving back whenever you are able. This past year she donated more than $160 million to charitable organizations. If she would have kept this money she would have been one of the few billionaires in the world, but being the woman that she is and having gone through the struggles that she had, JK Rowling is selfless and giving and used her fame and wealth to help others.

JK Rowling is an amazing person and author with an imagination that is unmatched, and I can truly say that without a doubt she is the one person I would choose to have dinner with.

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