Sophia Messinger, Junior - Interview Conducted by Nora Wagner
Friday, November 5th, 2021: It’s lunchtime, and excitement flurries around the library as students anticipate the end of their schooldays. Only two periods left until the weekend starts! Soft conversation filters throughout the room accompanied by the scratching of pen and pencil. As I begin this year’s seventh interview, I click record. “Welcome Sophia.” The interview has begun…
Nora: What’s your best “find?”
Sophia: I think my best find was this book called Space Invaders. It was really good! It’s about the revolution in Chile. Basically, what it’s like being a child when dictators take over in a Latin American country and trying to remember what happened. Yeah, it was a good find!
Nora: This year you participated in the school play as a stage manager. Previously, you’ve acted on stage. Which role in the play do you prefer?
Sophia: Hm…do I really have to choose? *laughs* Um…I think that there’s less instant gratification when you're a stage manager. It’s a really long process, and you’re working during the entire performance. It’s not like once you get off stage and are like, bam! My scene is done! Good job me! There’s also less of an adrenaline rush, but they’re both equally enjoyable to do. Being a stage manager is really cool, because you get to see the behind the scenes process, and that’s really fun.
Nora: Do you have a favorite book? If so, what is it?
Sophia: Well, it’s really hard to pick a favorite book. The one that comes to mind and one that I always try to get my friends to read is Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. It’s not, like, wonderful literature or anything *laughs*, but I really enjoyed reading it. Really fun to read, and it had a lot of creative ideas in it.
Nora: Recently, you temporarily moved from San Francisco to Oakland. Are there any differences between the two cities you’ve picked up on from living here that you didn’t notice from just attending school in Oakland?
Sophia: I don’t know…they honestly feel pretty similar. Well, I guess one interesting thing is that there was a sideshow, like, less than a block away from my house. There aren’t sideshows in San Francisco—it’s just not really a thing. Or at least not actual sideshows.
Nora: Do you think you’ll stay near this area when you’re older, or do you want to go out far?
Sophia: No. Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, I really do enjoy living here. I’m not opposed to the area or anything like that. But I do think for college and everything that comes after it, I’d like to move a little farther away from my family *laughs*. Just for independence! Like, if I’m able to go farther away, that would be the option I choose. Y’know, so I can feel like an adult. I don’t currently have plans to return back once I’m older, but it’s not completely out of the question. I love Oakland and San Francisco. They’re just places I really enjoy being in.
Nora: What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?
Sophia: When I was at my grandparents’ house, we were driving around and stopped by three free book sales. I got, like, a bajillion books. It’s not the luckiest thing ever, but y’know. It was pretty great. There were just piles of books. And three different ones! I got to sort through all of them to find my books. It was fantastic.
Nora: What are you looking forward to in the coming months?
Sophia: My birthday! It’s December 23rd, so that’s fun. Ooh! I get to see my aunt and uncle who live in London. They’re coming for winter break, and I haven’t seen them in years and years. By the start of quarantine, I hadn't seen them in two years, and obviously I haven’t seen them since quarantine. So, anyway, I’m very excited to see them.