Sarah A, Sophomore (Top Left) - Interview Conducted by Phoebe S and Anna C
Monday December 7, 2020: It is 12:00 pm - Lunch time! It’s gotten a lot colder, but the sun is still shining, and the birds are still chirping (we think- we were actually inside so, upon reflection, we have realized that we can’t really attest to that). The mood is light, and the Human of CPS makes small talk as we anticipate the semester’s second-to-last student interview. I click record. “Welcome, Sarah.” The interview has begun…
Anna: What is one object that you always carry around with you? Maybe a token of some kind?
Sarah: Well, it’s not something that I carry with me everywhere, but I have this little charm that I got in a temple in Japan, and it’s supposed to bring you good luck on grades, or something. So for every big test, I’ll put it in my pencil case, or with Zoom, I have it right near my desk, so I’ll look at it before a test, and be like “Please help me!”
Phoebe: Are there any words that you live by, or a quote of some kind that sticks with you?
Sarah: This is so random, but I always think of the quote in Percy Jackson, where he says like “Eat my pants” in Latin or something, and I read that when I was eight, and that was kind of my first exposure to Latin/Greek mythology. But um, I guess it sort of stayed with me? I really like Latin/Greek mythology, and the books were a really formative part of me when I was younger, and now I go to Latin Club and I also take Latin so…
Anna: When you were younger, was there something that you wanted to be and has that changed now?
Sarah: I really clearly remember telling my grandma after we watched The Princess and the Frog that I wanted to be Tiana, and be like an owner of a restaurant or work as a waitress, but since then, I kind of get information for what I want to be from movies. I wanted to be Madam Secretary, from the show, like a diplomat when I was younger, and then because of Grey’s Anatomy, I wanted to be a doctor. But currently, I’m not really sure.
Phoebe: What is your favorite place in the world?
Sarah: Over the summer, we went down to Carmel in Big Sur, and it was just really cool there, so that’s probably my favorite.
Anna: In your opinion, what is the best day to start the day?
Sarah: I guess it would be nice to wake up naturally, whenever you want, like without an alarm or something— that’s always really nice. And then I’d probably get coffee, but like, really good coffee— not bad coffee. I think it’s a must, or else it’s kind of not worth it. I like to chill in the mornings, but sometimes I like to go for a run instead.
Anna: Speaking of coffee, are you more of an iced coffee drinker or a hot coffee drinker?
Sarah: I think I’m actually more of a hot coffee drinker!
Phoebe: In keeping with the previous questions, how would you fill the rest of your perfect day?
Sarah: I’m not sure— I feel like my days in quarantine have been so different than what a normal day would be. So, I guess for now it would be to see my friends, since that’s always nice.
Anna: If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? (disregarding nutritional value!)
Sarah: That’s so hard! I don’t know, there’s just so much food out there! Maybe just like… arugula? *Laughs* I don’t know, it’s just kind of my favorite leafy vegetable? I’m not too sure though.
Phoebe: What is your favorite childhood memory, if you have one? Or, alternatively, what is the earliest thing you can remember?
Sarah: I remember— we used to live in Singapore for a little bit when I was very young, and I remember my dad taking me downstairs from our apartment, and I think I was going to preschool. There were kind of like these buses, but they were more like bart shuttle buses, and there were these really intimidating older kids, and I was three years old. The bus driver was really nice, and she gave me these Hello Kitty marshmallows, and I just really vividly remember the Hello Kitty marshmallows. I don’t actually remember living in Singapore; that’s actually the only thing that I can remember.