What’s been the hardest thing for you to deal with this semester?

Catching up because of Florence. My teachers are trying to be lenient, but there’s just so much stuff in a short amount of time you know what I mean? I’ve been trying to get ready for next semester too, so everything has been hectic. It’s a headache for sure.

With the primaries coming up, how have politics influenced your life personally?

A lot. I would say politics have influenced my life heavily because the past election was different. Before, we had people like McCain and Obama, and both were decent people. They both had views that aren’t too extreme. This past election was weird because everyone that supported Trump supported racist ideals. So if someone supported Trump, they were known as a racist, homophobe, and all that stuff. So, obviously, it affected my life in a way that I can see how people are lowkey racist, or how their views are really counter to mine. I think a lot of people lost some friends or view their friends differently. Like “Oh hey! Do you support Trump? Still?” It was kind of different when he was running for the presidency, but now he’s president and he’s doing all of this stuff it’s just like “Really man?” When I see people still supporting him I’m like “Mmm.” I would say that politics have affected my life because now I look at people differently if they say they’re a Trump supporter.

Do you feel comfortable talking with your friends about it? Or are there certain times where you don’t bother bringing it up?

It depends on the people. If I’m with my black friends or my liberal friends, and then some conservatives, then I feel more comfortable to say whatever I’m feeling. If I’m in the library with my study group, and they’re all Trump supporting white dudes, I wouldn’t say anything because it’s counterproductive at that point. What would it really do besides create a heated atmosphere, you feel me?

Do you ever feel like you get in the way of your own success?

Yeah!

And how do you do that?

By being lazy. For example, I have a test coming up on Monday, and I just started studying for it today [Thursday]. You know, if I were just more productive with my time management, then I would be more effective when it comes to my success. I’m my biggest enemy because I’ll say “Eh, I’ll do it later.” and I end up finessing a B on an assignment when I know I could’ve gotten an A if I studied for it last week (the week before). So yeah. I’m my biggest enemy when it comes to time management and motivation. I gotta stay self-motivated, and I get motivated when it comes to procrastination, but if I have 2 weeks to finish an assignment, then I’m like “I’m cool. I’ve got time.” That’s just counterproductive.

What gives your life meaning?

Ooh, that’s deep! Meeting new people. That’s always dope. A new friend, you know? It’s always sick, and you never know what could come out of it. You know how in college, you can meet one person, and then you meet 3 more people from them, and then before you know it your whole college experience is different? That’s all because you met someone new. For example, let’s say you never met your best friend in college right now, I’m pretty sure your college experience would be a lot different. Like for me, I met my best friend at a frat party, and we just kept talking about how wack it was. After that party, we made a whole bunch of cool memories and a new squad because of that. So I would say meeting new people gives my life meaning.

Has this always been a thing for you? Or did this just start in college?

Its always been a thing. Every time I meet someone new, I’m just like “Dang, life just got (a whole lot) different. And then, you have all of these different mindsets, and collective ways of thinking (around you). You end of evolving as a person because of it.

What do you feel like is the best thing you have to offer in helping other people? And Why?

Compassion. I work with a lot of underprivileged kids, and let’s say these kids have been molested or abused and then they also grow up in a low-income house. Then, they grow up to be those people working in wag that you see with face tattoos and all that stuff. Some people might say “Wow look at that loser”, but they’re not losers, people don’t know what they’ve been through, you know what I mean? One person’s story can be way different than yours, so they might not have had the same opportunities that you had. With compassion, you can understand that. So my best thing to offer would be compassion, just empathizing with others and seeing where they come from and being able to understand them.