Interviewing someone you vaguely recognize from across a long table is something of an unsettling experience. You’ve seen each other every week for a better part of the semester without uttering a single word to one another, aside from maybe an “Excuse me,” or “Is that seat taken?”
Yet, here we were, thrust into each other’s company and forced to make something extraordinary out of something expected to be…well, ordinary.
Lab 7 gave the students of MMC 2100 a chance to interview one another in the hopes that we’d be able to spin our dull lives into something worthy of a personality profile. My victim — the innocent, amiable Wesley Rodriguez.
After shaking hands and exchanging standard chit-chat, we decided it’d be best to remove ourselves from the general hub of the class and relocated to a secluded bench on the second floor of Weimer.
Much deliberation and an awkward pause or two later, he decided to go first in the interview. As it turns out, we’re a bit more interesting a group than one would think. A Naples native, he’s apparently a top dog when it comes to being a Boy Scout.
Having garnered the title of “Eagle Scout,” he continues to collect merits and even participated in the 50-Miler, a treacherous journey that would make even the most seasoned mountain man blush. This kid really did enjoy the outdoors.
Better yet, he was practically a saint. His participation wasn’t about the badges, but the bonafide experience and morality he’s learned from being a Scout.
This left me feeling less than accomplished. I’m an improv comedian with very little to show for it thus far.
Sure, I spun it somehow to make myself out to be much more interesting than I actually am. “Yeah, I made one of the long-form troupes,” I said. “It’s the only audition-only aspect, so it’s very competitive and it’s really only the best of the best improvisers.”
But post-interview, I felt so small next to this guy I just met not even a half hour previously.
Those who can’t do teach. Those who can’t be written about write.
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