Aspen Fleming, the 14-year-old writer is next on my list of girls to interview. She is in 9th grade and enjoys reading, dancing, and singing. One day, she hopes to go to university and major in a particular area of the health department to help people out in a practical way. Hailing from the country of Indonesia, she especially appreciates the hospitality of the humble and loving people, the unique culture, and the tropical beaches. Being an INFJ-T, she describes herself as a socially awkward, kind, and an introspective person.
“How long have you been with TPS and why did you join TPS?” I ask, eager to get to know more about her.
“I believe it’s 3 years. I think I started in 6th grade. I joined because I had a friend who was doing a class, and she wanted to know if I could do it with her.”
“Ah! That’s fun. What classes are you taking with TPS this year?”
Aspen lists out, “Bible Survey, Biology, and American History, Literature and Composition Honors.”
“What are some of your favorites?”
“My favorite color is probably an ocean blue, almost like a teal. My favorite character from a book is Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, with Harry Potter following very close behind. For animals, we’ve had bunnies for a long time ever since I was 9 or 10, so they have been my favorite animals. My favorite book series or fandoms are Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Maze Runner, and Keeper of the Lost Cities.”
My eyes widen slightly at the incredibly long list of favorite books. “What are some things on your bucket list if you have one?”
“Oh dear, I don’t think I have one. I mainly just have a long list of books I want to read—that’s my bucket list.” She grins sheepishly as her love for books is revealed once more.
I chuckle lightly, “Same. What are some of your talents?”
“Oh dear, I’m not very talented you see. I can harmonize by ear if that counts.”
“Harmonization is definitely a talent. If you had the chance, what would you tell your younger self?”
A moment of pondering reveals her deep side. “There are so many people in this world that are going to love you, but you have to love yourself first.”
“Wow. For the eighth question, what does encouragement mean to you?”
“I read a lot of writings on forums, and I generally tend to try to mix encouragement with advice in a way that’s not harsh. I strive to be encouraging and honest in the way I respond. I think that that a lot of what encouragement is being honest and uplifting.”
“That is a very good answer. Where have you travelled before?”
Giving out a slight laugh while shaking her head, she replied, “I’ve travelled…a lot. I’ve been to Thailand, two other parts of Indonesia, and basically around the entire United States. In May 2019, we did a road trip all around the US and got to see a lot of the national parks. I think there were only a couple of states that we missed such as Georgia and Florida. We went to London as well; that was really, really cool.”
“Sounds so fun, and I’ll add Singapore for you too.”
“Oh yes, that too, sorry. I used to go there a lot, but now because of COVID, it is not an option.”
“Unfortunately so. Let’s see, do you have any embarrassing moments that you would like to share?”
“Funny for me, I only have a couple embarrassing moments, that I usually forget about. Well, there was a time—this has become famous in my community—I had downloaded a voice changer on GP7 to try out, but I thought it didn’t work because it apparently takes a day to load. I didn’t find that out until later, so I assumed that I had deleted it. I went on to class the next day, and I was like, ‘Hey, can you hear me? I have a question.’ My voice was in the chipmunk mode, and everyone was cracking up, but I wasn’t even sure why they were laughing. When I went back and watched the recording, I was like…hmm okay.”
“Oh man, at least it wasn’t suddenly really low or something. If you could excel in one thing, what would it be?”
She replies without hesitance, “I would definitely say writing because I really love writing. Writing feels like something that’s part of me, and it would be better to be amazing at it.”
“I’ve seen some of your writing, you’re really good.” My eyes quickly skim through my list of questions, “This will be the last question, is there anything you would like to tell your friends who are reading this interview?”
“Thank you for reading, and to those of my dear friends, you know who you are, thank you so much for everything you do for me, and I love you all so much.”
“Well, I think this brings the interview to a close. Thank you!” I bid Aspen goodbye as we finish off.