Spotlight

10 Questions with Hannah Ihn

15-year-old Hannah Ihn, a thoughtful and caring Korean-American, resides in Seattle, Washington. She enjoys baking, nail art, singing, songwriting, socializing, playing the flute, piano, and guitar, and trying to solve Rubik’s cubes. While this is her first year with TPS, she is taking a full load of classes, including English 3, History, Chemistry, Spanish 1 Honors, Geometry, and Bible Survey. She has two sisters and speaks both Korean and Spanish. She strongly and passionately believes that milk should come before cereal even though everyone she knows thinks otherwise. Her all-time favorite Disney characters are Anna from Frozen and Vanellope from Wreck-It-Ralph.

I start with my typical question, “What are some of your favorites? You may list anything that comes to mind.”

“Hmm… favorites? I’m blanking here.” Hannah ponders for a long while before answering. “Okay…my favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla. Everyone hates vanilla, but it’s just the best flavor.”

“Why? It’s too sweet.”

Her eyes widen as she starts to defend her position. “Excuse me? Vanilla is the most basic, non-sweet flavor.”

“Okay, okay! You can continue to list out more of your favorites.”

“This is so hard; you make it so broad.”

“Fine. How about color?”

“Pastel rose gold.”

“Subject?”

“My favorite subject is Spanish, even though I’m not that good at it.”

“Favorite thing to bake? I think it’s bread…” I answer my own question.

“Yep. Erika, you need to look up more creative questions to ask as an interviewer.” Hannah then proceeds to google questions to ask herself but ends up not being able to answer the questions that she found interesting. In the end, she shares that her favorite sleeping position is very specific. She likes to have a pillow between her legs, and she must lie down on the right side, or she will have a neck cramp. Her pillow needs to be of satin material to prevent her hair from being tangled.

“Okay, moving on. What do you like best about Seattle?”

“I like the shopping malls and how everything is so close and convenient in the city. Oh, and Starbucks.”

“Shopping malls and Starbucks– something you can get in every country! What are some things on your bucket list?”

“I want to go to Paris, attend a British Premier League game in person, and go paragliding in Hawaii. I want to go to Singapore to visit you. I want to get a unicorn.”

“Get a unicorn?” My shock skyrockets a hundred and one percent upwards.

“Yeah, even if it’s not real, I want to get a horse and tape a horn on it and ride it.”

“I don’t know you…”

“Gosh, every girl’s dream is to get a pet unicorn.”

“No? If you had the chance, what would you tell your younger self?”

While it was interesting how Hannah could not contain herself and burst out laughing at the question, she manages to answer it seriously. “To be very real and to keep things light. To be more responsible and careful and spend more time with my older sister. Start speaking more Korean at an early age.”

“What are a few fun facts that the majority of the TPS community do not know about you?”

“Pfft. See, the thing is, I’m a very open person, and I basically spill all my secrets to everyone. But I am related to a Korean martyr. I just found that out last week. Another fun fact about me is that I have never tried a tomato before.”

“Huh! What in the world?” I had no idea that I could still get more surprised at her answers.

“I have tried Marinara sauce and tomato soup, but not an actual tomato. I also have not tried kiwi and the majority of the berries, like raspberries and blackberries.” She goes on to explain that she is trying to stay cautious due to having many food allergies.

“What are some of your pet peeves?”

She gestures wildly while stating her hatred. “I hate it when someone chews ice, leaves the door open, or chews with their mouth open. I also hate monotone text replies, punctuation periods, being left on read, uneven nails, and when a single hair is out while taking a picture.”

“And, for the last question, is there anything you would like to tell your friends who are reading this interview?”

“My dear friends, if you are my friend, I thank you from the bottom of my soul. Every single one of my friends means a lot to me. If you are my friend, that means I care about you a lot. I really, really care a lot for you. You are special. God made you special, and He loves you very much. Thank you for being there and thank you for being my friend.”

“Alright, we’ll wrap up the interview here. Thank you for your willingness to be interviewed.”

“Thank you!” And I end the call.

 

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