Ellie L., senior — interview conducted by Araddhya Tibrewall
Monday, May 8, 3:41 pm: The school day has ended, and the courtyard settles into that familiar evening quiet. We stand in front of the auditorium and take in the cool breeze blowing from the west. I click record. “Welcome, Ellie.” The interview has begun…
Araddhya: Hi Ellie, what’s up?
Ellie: Um, not much, I’m in the last few weeks of senior year.
Araddhya: So how does it feel to be a senior at this time of year?
Ellie: I think it’s definitely bittersweet—you know the weather is getting better and it’s nice to spend time with friends, but it’s also sad that these are my last couple of weeks of CPS. A little bittersweet.
Araddhya: Yup. Okay, let’s get started. If you could choose one song to play every time you walk into a room for the rest of your life, which song would you choose?
Ellie: That’s tough. Hmmm……I feel like maybe “Life on Mars” by David Bowie, but that’s also not a great walk-in song. I think there’s a song called “There's Still A Light in the House” by Valley, which is upbeat and feels really summery. So yeah.
Araddhya: What’s something unique about you that your classmates might not know?
Ellie: Maybe that I played violin for 9 years before coming to CPS.
Araddhya: You did? Whoa.
Ellie: Yeah. I did. I played, like, since first grade but I was not super in love with it, though I kinda miss playing. I watched the orchestra concert yesterday, so maybe I miss playing. Maybe it’s something that I’ll pick back up in college or some other time.
Araddhya: Just like Alexis with the piano.
Ellie: (laughs)
Araddhya: Looking back at your experience at CPS, what is something you'll never forget? This can be a sports team, a moment, a friend, a class, really anything.
Ellie: Well that’d be you Araddhya. (so sweet!)
Araddhya: That would be me. (proudly)
Ellie: No I’m just kidding. I think probably two things: the first is Mamma Mia which is such a special experience. That was the first big musical that we did coming back from COVID and it was just a really special experience for me, because I got close with a lot of people that I hadn’t known before and coming to that world, that happy musical world every day after school was something that I’d look forward to during my junior spring, which you know is a hard time. The second thing is probably snow trip. I just think our grade really bonded and had an amazing time. I feel like I got to talk to people who I hadn’t really gotten to know before, and I just felt really close to everyone.
Araddhya: Are you looking forward to retreat?
Ellie: Yes, I definitely am.
Araddhya: Cool. What are you looking forward to in the future? This could be your last few weeks here, summer, college, life with an uppercase L, pretty much anything.
Ellie: I’m definitely looking forward to spending as much time here as I can and my last couple of weeks, but I’m also really looking forward to college. I’m looking forward to finding myself even more, just like the person I am today is really different from the person I was in middle school. And I’m excited to keep finding new pockets 0f myself for kind of fine-tuning the person I am. I don’t know, I think it’ll be good and I’m excited to feel more me wherever I go.
Araddhya: And you’ll join an a capella group, right?
Ellie: Oh yes of course. I’m doing that. If I can get in. That’d be fun.
Araddhya: Okay this is your last question. If you could say thank you to one room at CPS, which one would it be?
Ellie: Hmmm.. This should probably come as no surprise, but I think I would say thank you to the auditorium. Araddhya just pointed to the auditorium for those of you who might be reading this. Um, yeah, I just think it’s just such a special and safe place. I think it has been the physical manifestation of a lot of the communities I’ve built around here, and I’ve had a lot of moments in the auditorium, some good, some bad. It’s a really special place. It’s definitely the place on campus I’m most looking forward to coming back to and visiting.
Araddhya:
Okay, thank you so much, Ellie. We’ll miss you.
Ellie: Thank you. Aw, Araddhya, I’ll miss you too.
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