Asher S., Senior– Interview conducted by Joseph Shelby
Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, 2:05 p.m.: H-Block has just begun, and students flood into the commons, poised to enjoy themselves as much as they possibly can in the time that they have. I watch them while sitting at the bake sale bench and waiting for my interviewee. The sky flaunts a dull shade of gray until I notice a speck of sunlight begins to peek out from it. All of the sudden, he makes his way to me, I click record. “Welcome Asher.” The interview has begun…
Joseph: If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, which song would you choose?
Asher: Alright, one song to play every single time I walk into a room for the rest of my life. Geez, there are a million options flashing through my head right now.
Joseph: You could name multiple if you’d like, but try to narrow it down to one.
Asher: Yeah, um, okay. There’s one that’s coming to mind now that just gives me a sort of… vibe. It’s a song by a band I really like off of the SpongeBob SquarePants musical called “I’m Not a Loser” because I just think it’d be very funny to have that be my walk-up song. You know, like guys please take me seriously, please, for the love of God.
Joseph: Yeah, sort of like an affirmation. I’d probably give a pretty similar answer (laughs)
Asher: Yeah, it just feels like something that lets people know that I don’t take myself very seriously.
Joseph: Do you ever think it would get annoying?
Asher: Probably, but I feel like almost any song would get annoying after enough time. There’s another song that I just generally enjoy listening to though called "Play Money". I’m not sure it reflects my personality all that well, but yeah.
Joseph: Alright, cool, those are some pretty nice picks. Next question: what is something unique about you that your classmates might not know?
Asher: This one’s pretty tricky—oh actually. Okay, I am pretty frickin’ good at—do you know that marble maze game where there are two dials on the corners, and there’s this flat maze where you have to, like, guide them through holes and stuff.
Joseph: So, do you physically move it?
Asher: No, basically there are two dials on two sides. One of them turns the table left/right and the other shifts the axis. Yeah, I’m very good at that. I haven’t done it in a while, but I’m able to do it forward and backward.
Joseph: What do you think the secret is to being good at it?
Asher: Practice. It’s a boring answer, but it’s the truth.
Joseph: You haven’t done it in a while though.
Asher: True. So that might be wrong, but it just feels like the sort of skill that I’d be able to maintain. Okay, at the very least, the fact is that I once was able to do it.
Joseph: That sounds like a pretty unique skill. Okay, looking back at your experience at CPS, what is something you will never forget? So this can be an event, an experience, a memory, maybe people, a teacher, whatever you’d like to say.
Asher: I would say that I probably won’t forget my time in the various musicals and plays. Especially Mamma Mia!, since it’s so fresh in my memory. Even the musical I’m doing right now, Pirates of Penzance, still just reminds me of those really lovely times. Yeah, and I’ve really enjoyed my time there.
Joseph: Yeah, do you want to describe how being in theater at CPS has made you feel over the years?
Asher: Yeah, some of the greatest catharsis I’ve ever felt in my years at College Prep comes from the beautiful feeling you get when you're done with a performance, and you’re buzzing with adrenaline. It’s beautiful.
Joseph: Yeah, when you just feel like all the work you’ve put in has paid off.
Asher: Exactly, and it’s also amazing how everyone else is in that exact same physical and emotional space with you.
Joseph: That must be amazing. So, what are you looking forward to in the future?
Asher: I’m definitely looking at college with a lot of anticipation. I would also say I’m looking forward to it, but there’s obviously an equal amount of excitement and nerves. Something else I might be looking forward to is how my schedule’s going to be pretty much entirely open, and I’ll just have a good amount of time to really pursue the stuff that I’d like to do. Like, I’m trying to make a card game on the side.
Joseph: That sounds like something you could’ve said for what people don’t know about you. Tell me more about your card game.
Asher: Yeah, so the working title is Basilisk. To anybody who might be reading this right now, please contact me if you want to play test it. I’d be more than happy.
Joseph: How long have you been working on it?
Asher: I want to say around a year by now. I specifically remember that I had the idea for it when I was at my grandparents' sometime last year, and I’ve been working on it ever since.
Joseph: Okay, this last question is my own personal brain child, so here it is. If you could say thank you to one room at CPS, which one would it be?
Asher: Easily the Learning Center. First off, it’s the room that I’m consistently the most productive in. Or, consistently the least productive in, but for like a good reason because there are other people in there. Also, James is wonderful, and I love the puzzles he puts up. I’ve even been lucky enough to get some puzzles put [up] as well. I just really like the Learning Center. So, thank you very much to the Learning Center and to James specifically.
Joseph: Okay, that’s all the questions we have. Good luck with the rest of your time here and it was awesome talking to you.
Asher: Yeah, great to talk to you!
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