Jesse D., Sophomore - Interview Conducted by Pearl Werbach
Thursday, December 1st, 11:05: The first real rainy day in a while—the Berkeley hills are enveloped in a milky fog, the windows clouded from the heat inside. I meet Jesse inside the library during open block, and we struggle to find a place unoccupied by students seeking shelter from the rain. Settling on a nook between the bookshelves, the interview begins...
Pearl: Hi, Jesse!
Jesse: Hi.
Pearl: Do you have any fun hobbies?
Jesse: Uh, yeah. I play piano. I love playing piano.
Pearl: Oh really? No way!
[laughter because we were talking about this pre-recording]
Jesse: Yeah. I do a lot of it outside of school. Right now I’m doing the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College program.
Pearl: I’ve heard about that! That’s amazing!
Jesse: Yeah—it’s, um. It’s okay. I also played a lot of Magic the Gathering in middle school, but I’ve been playing less now. Probably because I don’t have as much time.
Pearl: Ah, yes. That College Prep work.
Jesse: Yeah.
Pearl: Would you say that you’re more of an extrovert or an introvert?
Jesse: Probably introvert. Depends on the day, though.
Pearl: What was the last TV show you binge-watched?
Jesse: I haven’t binge-watched anything in a while.
Pearl: Nothing?
Jesse: Well, okay. Over the quarantine I binge-watched the Office.
Pearl: That’s a good one. Would you rather have telekinesis (the ability to move things with your mind) or telepathy (the ability to read minds)?
Jesse: Telekinesis. It seems cooler.
Pearl: Yeah…something you can show off. And I feel like it’d be scary to know what everyone thinks of you.
Jesse: Yeah.
Pearl: Would you rather be forced to sing along or dance to every song you hear? This is a hard one, since you play piano.
Jesse: Well, definitely sing along. Because I can't dance.
Pearl: I don’t even know how you’d dance with, like, your hands on the keys.
Jesse: Move around on the seat?
Pearl: Just like, wiggle back and forth?
[laughter]
Pearl: Thank you so much, Jesse!