Kai B., Sophomore - Interview conducted by Angela Wang
11:50 am: It’s the end of Assembly. Students mill around, searching for their friends as the bell rings, signaling the beginning of lunch. Quickly, the congregated mass disperses as I look around for Kai. Ah! Spotted. I greet him, and the interview begins.
Angela: Hey Kai! To kick it off, tell me something embarrassing that has happened to you.
Kai: Oh boy. Something embarrassing… oh boy. I mean, besides the usual, something that I’ve noticed at CPS, I mean less now that I’ve spent more time at CPS, but it’s always just embarrassing when teachers call you by the wrong name.
Angela: Oh yeah…
Kai: And, I never really correct them. I don't know. I always assume they're talking to another person when they actually call my name. The other day one of my teachers called me Koi—
Angela: Koi?! (laughing)
Kai: (laughing) yeah! That’s a new one. I’ve never heard that one before.
Angela: Yeah me neither!
Kai: And then the same day—like the period after—my teacher, a different teacher, called me by the name of one of the students who wasn’t even in the class. But since I had just transferred from the class, like, my head snapped around, and I still regret not, like not telling her it was me, because I just assumed, you know, that she was talking to someone else. That’s a thing that happens to me a lot; it’s always really embarrassing for me when I do that.
Angela: So she called you by someone else’s name?
Kai: Yeah, yeah.
Angela: But she was meaning to call you?
Kai: Now it’s a lot better… yeah.
Angela: Yeah, that’s good. But this was at the beginning of the year only, right?
Kai: Yeah.
Angela: So, what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
Kai: Oh boy. I wouldn’t consider myself a very brave person… I mean, I have to think about that. The bravest thing I’ve ever done… huh.
Angela: Take your time.
Kai: Huh. I mean, probably, just exploring—like by my house there are old, abandoned radio buildings and they’re decaying. And there are these tall radio masts by there, like tons of them. A couple of them had fallen over, and my friend and I decided to climb one of them. I don’t know, for fun—you get a cool view. Um, it’s definitely an interesting experience. It’s really scary. I’m not the best with heights. But, I mean, I went up, I went down, took some cool photos. It was worth it. I’m not sure if I would do it again because it was only afterward that I saw the ones that had fallen over.
Angela: Yeah. I think I’ve actually seen your pictures on Instagram!
Kai: Yeah!
Angela: Is that what that is?
Kai: Mhm!
Angela: Oh that’s very cool! Alright, what do you do in your free time?
Kai: At CPS or outside of CPS?
Angela: Outside of CPS.
Kai: Well I do tons of biking, less so mountain biking. I mean that's fun, but mostly like road biking just to explore new places. Then also, when I’m not doing that, like usually when it’s dark, I play video games sometimes or talk to my friends. But I’d say the vast majority of my free time is occupied by some kind of going out and about. Yeah, I really like learning about, like, where I live and what there is to do.
Angela: That’s cool! Not a lot of people do that. Alright, if you could spend $10,000 today, how would you spend it?
Kai: If I could spend $10,000 today… I could only spend it today, or would I get it today?
Angela: Uhhhhh, you’d get it today.
Kai: I’m gonna be honest. I’d probably put it to a car. Um—
Angela: (laughing) Oh, you’d put it to a car? What kind?
Kai: I really want a 98 Jeep Cherokee ‘cause my grandpa has one. I know, completely random. I like cars; I think it’s a cool car. I’d like to tell people that I’m gonna save it, but realistically, I know I wouldn’t.
Angela: What kind of car is that? Is that a sports car? A truck?
Kai: Oh no, no, no. It’s basically a Jeep, but it’s built on a pickup truck frame. So the car runs on gas, but it's built on the frame of a pickup truck.
Angela: Oh interesting! I’d have to search up a photo of that to see what you’re talking about.
Kai: Yeah. It’s really cool, so.
Angela: Lastly, what is an accomplishment you’re most proud of?
Kai: At CPS, or outside of CPS?
Angela: Whatever you want.
Kai: Oh boy. When I was three, my parents bought me an interactive globe. So basically the globe came with a pen, and you could tap a place and learn like the capital, language, things like that. So I memorized the location of every country.
Angela: Woah!
Kai: …And then a lot of the capitals and flags, and I’ve retained most of that. I’m a little bit rusty, but like—and still, I mean, learning all the general knowledge, my biggest regret is that my parents only took one video of the entire thing when I was four. I was really tired, and I got random stuff like the capital of Chad and Burkina Faso, but I didn’t know where Paris was.
Angela: (laughing) Oh no!
Kai: Yeah, it was hilarious. I’m really proud of that. I find it tends to impress people, so now I’m working on the same thing with California counties. It’s… that’s something I’m very proud of.
Angela: Yeah, that’s very impressive!
Kai: Oh, thanks!
Angela: Well that would wrap up the interview, so thank you so much!
Kai: Great, thank you so much!