Olivia Falk, Freshman - Interview Conducted by Phoebe Shin
Friday, November 5th, 2021: It’s the last period of the day, and students are buzzing about the Music Lawn, waiting for the upcoming weekend. The sun is shining, almost a little too intensely, as we make our way to the shelter of the N building’s stairs. As I begin this year’s ninth interview, I click record. “Welcome Olivia.” The interview has begun…
Phoebe: How do you like CPS so far? How has your transition from middle to high school been?
Olivia: It’s been good so far! I’d say that coming from a public middle school, it is a really different experience, because of the curriculum and the teaching styles. But there've been a lot of great people that I’ve already met, and the teachers are obviously super helpful, so it’s been good! I think Covid actually made the transition easier for me, especially in the homework sense—we had half asynchronous days, so I had to do a lot of work on my own, so I got used to having a lot of homework. I also didn’t actually feel like the class size was a lot smaller for me, even if it was, because on Zoom I just didn’t really register how many people there actually were.
Phoebe: What did you want to be when you grew up? How has that changed for you?
Olivia: I didn’t really have any specific idea of what I wanted to be, and I still don’t, really. It kind of changes all the time. Last year I thought being a journalist would be really cool, but also I love to cook—even though I don’t think I would ever become a cook—and I’ve also thought that being a lawyer would be cool, but I also don’t know if I’m sticking with that idea.
Phoebe: What are your pet peeves? Why?
Olivia: One of my big pet peeves is when people aren’t talking altogether. Like, when people are in a group and are ignoring each other—I guess it’s not really a pet peeve, but it definitely annoys me. Also, it annoys me a lot when people are walking really slowly and we’re just trying to get somewhere.
Phoebe: What is your favorite smell?
Olivia: I would say the smell of freshly baked cookies, or brownies would probably be it—honestly, any baked good. Or just fall scents in general; I love walking past Peet’s and smelling all the pumpkin spice.
Phoebe: If you had a personal flag, what would be on it?
Olivia: I guess I would put things I like to do, like running, or music. I would also put my friends, family, and my dog, Lucky, on it. I would maybe put words that remind me of good things, like travel, and kindness. *laughs* I’m not really sure.
Phoebe: For the last part of the interview, I’ll give you a series of quick questions! Starting with….
Morning or night? I think I actually prefer the morning, because I feel like I have more time in the morning and I wake up earlier. I’m somewhat of a morning person—or I try to be!
How many pieces should a pizza be cut into? I guess…like, 8? I’m trying to remember how big a pizza actually is. 8, 10, maybe? I have no idea why.
Christmas or Thanksgiving? I think I’d have to go with Christmas, because I just love the spirit, and obviously there’s a lot of baking involved. Obviously Thanksgiving’s really nice too, and I’m going to see my family this year, so that’s super nice.
Is cereal soup? I have to say no. My gut reaction is no—a lot of things just don’t seem right. But maybe someone could say yes and it could be logical?