the pieces of my life

Me: What’s today?

10 year old: My birthday.

Me: How do you know?

10 year old: Because when I woke up there were balloons in my door that said “Happy Birthday” and it’s August 25, which is my birthday, and Doodles birthday was two days ago on the 23 and my birthday is two days after,so yeah. Also I opened presents and they all said happy birthday.

Me: How did you spend your birthday?

10 year old: I got mani/pedis with Jasmine. Went to Orange Leaf. We went out for lunch. We had Froot Loops with marshmallows for breakfast. We went out for dinner. We had cake with our neighbors.

Me: What was your favorite part?

10 year old: Mani/pedis. We also went to Candy Castle! I forgot about that.

Me: How does it feel to be a 10 year old?

10 year old: Good. I’m finally double digits like all my friends. When people say, “You’re all ten, right?” I can finally say, “Yeah.”

Me: Was it a good birthday?

10 year old: Yes.

Me: What are your favorite books?

10 year old: Truth about Twinkie Pie is my favorite book. I also like the Cupcake Diaries series, which by the way, can I preorder the next book? It comes out in October.

Me: We’ll see. What are you listening to?

10 year old: Like music? I like Selena Gomez.

Me: Still?

10 year old: Yeah! Currently my favorite song is called Golden Boy and it’s from the zumba class I took at sleepaway camp and it’s song from this music competition they have in Europe and Israel submitted it, even though Israel is not in Europe, it still participates. It goes, “I’m a golden boy, come here to enjoy, I’m the king of fun, let me show you how we do it.”

Me: What are your favorite things to watch?

10 year old: Favorite thing to watch is probably Nickelodeon and Disney. Like Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, & Dawn. Liv and Maddie. I also liked Bunk’d, which is a spin-off of Jessie. I also like Modern Family, but it hasn’t been on lately so I can’t say much about that except it’s good; it just hasn’t been on.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

10 year old: No clue, but I think at this point a writer or I don’t know, maybe a journalist. I really have no clue. Probably something to do with writing. I like drawing, so maybe I’ll write a book and illustrate it myself. Probably at this point a writing.

Me: What happened to engineering?

10 year old: It’s a maybe, but at this point writing is what I want to do. Engineering I’m into, but not as into.

Me: What are you looking forward to in 5th grade?

10 year old: My classmates. I’m excited for science camp. Freedom.

Me: What kind of freedom.

10 year old: I get snack whenever I want. The teachers aren’t always there. It’s basically like babysitting. They’re still there to watch out for you, but you kind of go off, you don’t need them to tell you a night time story. If you want one, you’ll read it yourself. You don’t need them to supervise you. If you’re scared, you’re not going to have them tuck you into bed like when you were little.

Me: Do you still have babysitters?

10 year old: Doodles is my babysitter.

Me: So teachers are just babysitters?

10 year old: Basically. They’re there for you when you need it, they’re there for you to teach you, but when walk to specials yourself, you walk inside yourself.

Me: What are your goals as a 10 year old?

10 year old: I want to be more awesome. I mean I don’t have much expectations. I kind of want for school, I want to be more mature. There are a few acts I want to change. Like sometimes when I’m tired, I’ll totally tune out. In math, I’ll doze off with my eyes still open. At the end of the year Jasmine would sit next to me and we’d pass notes or write messages to each other on each other’s arms with our fingers. I want to be more focused because for middle school and high school there are a lot of things I want to do and it kind of starts here. So I want to be a little more mature. I want to try and grow my hair out a little longer. I need to take better care of my hair. I want to be better about my hygiene.

Me: Any grand pronouncements?

10 year old: Again? What’s a pronouncement? Tweedle Twirp already explained it to me this morning, but I forgot it.

Me: Any big statements about the year?

10 year old: I kind of feel like–it’s about the school year again–I feel like I’m ready. I’m prepared. This summer I’ve been setting myself up for this year. I have my best my thoughts at camp. Walking back from the dining hall or walking around the tree at the front yard or before I go to bed I’ll think about my life. I feel like this year is going to be very different. I have an image in my head of what I want to be, which probably during the middle of the year, will probably disappear, and I’ll be back in my bad hygiene habits. Ooh! This year I’m going to try to start flossing! That’s my grand pronouncement!

Happy birthday, Pie!

Me: What’s today?

12 year old: My birthday

Me: How do you know?

12 year old: Because my calendar notification told me.

Me: How does it feel to be a twelve year old?

12 year old: Weird.

Me: Why?

12 year old: Because. I’m not eleven.

Me: How did you spend your birthday?

12 year old: I went to see Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and then I played Laser Tag. I ate breakfast of donuts. And a dinner of steak.

Me: Did you like the movie?

12 year old: Yes.

Me: Favorite part?

12 year old: The ending.

Me: Was it a good birthday?

12 year old: Yeah.

Me: Can I get more than one word answers?

12 year old: No. Okay, yes.

Me: What do you like to do these days?

12 year old: I like to program in Unity and do math.

Me: What are your favorite books?

12 year old: The House of the Scorpion and Ready Player One.

Me: What are you listening to?

12 year old: Lo Normali by EZ.

Me: What are your favorite things to watch?

12 year old: Big Bang Theory. Simpsons. Silicon Valley.

Me: Those are the same shows you watched last year.

12 year old: Yeah.

Me: Haven’t you matured?

12 year old: No.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

12 year old: Computer programmer. Game.

Me: What are you looking forward to in 7th grade?

12 year old: Math. 8th grade math.

Me: What are your goals as a 12 year old?

12 year old: Survive to be thirteen.

Me: Thirteen means bar mitzvah. Ready for that?

12 year old: Sure.

Me: Any grand pronouncements?

12 year old: Not really. I am amazing.

Me: What does “pronouncement” mean?

12 year old: Like [reaches for phone; I say no], um, something you want to say?

Me: Is this the last year we’ll do these interviews? Your answers are pretty boring.

12 year old: No. This is the not the last year we will be doing the interviews.

Me: Do you have anything interesting to say?

12 year old: No.

Me: So why should we keep doing this?

12 year old: Because maybe next year I will have something interesting to say.

Happy birthday, Doodles.

Me: What was last Monday?

9 year old: My birthday.

Me: If your birthday was on Monday, why am I interviewing you on Friday?

9 year old: Because on my birthday we were full–we were busy–and so we didn’t have time and we never got to do it because we had to do other stuff at home so we’re doing it today.

Me: What other stuff did we have to do?

9 year old: I had a birthday party and we had to unpack.

Me: What was your party like?

9 year old: It was a Hawaiian Splash Slumber Party. Meaning it was a Hawaiian party and the splash part was we played in water.

Me: Was it good?

9 year old: Yeah.

Me: How does it feel to be a nine year old?

9 year old: Good. Awesome. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Me: How did you spend your birthday?

9 year old: [In New York] We went to breakfast at the Cookshop and we went to the High Line and we went to Union Square playground. Then we went to the Converse store, and then went to this bakery but we didn’t get anything there [we were checking out the Cronut bakery, but the Cronuts were long gone and nothing else looked interesting to her] and then we got this watermelon water, which was really yummy, and then we went to the Chobani store [for a snack]. And then we went to the Children’s Museum of the Arts [where she drew, collaged, and made a clay birthday pig]. And then after that we went shopping with my aunt and her, um, boyfriend [the Tweedle Twins]. Then we went back to the apartment for presents and cake. And then we went out for dinner to Le Zie and Peter made these online invitations and it was really funny [otherwise known as calendar invites, which are amazing to a 9 year old). And then me and my aunt and my mom went to see Mamma Mia on Broadway. Then we went to Toys R Us but they were closing because it was almost 11 o’clock so we went back to the apartment and went back to sleep.

Me: Why do you keep saying “awnt”? It’s pronounced “ant.” Are you a Brown or a Medros? Only those fussy Medroses say “awnt.”

9 year old: I’m a Brown-Medros.

Me: Was it a good birthday?

9 year old: Yes!

Me: What do you like to do these days?

9 year old: I like dance and I like soccer and I like Girl Scouts and I like to play the bass and I like Hebrew school and I do Smart Start [a before-school PE program] and I’m going to do Fit Girls [a running program for 4th and 5th grade girls]. I also like hanging out with family and friends.

Me: How did you end up so different from your brother?

9 year old: I don’t know because he’s just like, “Hmm, I just want to play on the computer,” and once the computer was invented, he was like “Adios, everybody,” and I was never like “Adios, everybody.” Differences are okay.

Me: What are your favorite books?

9 year old: I really like the Lunch Lady books. I like Wendy Mass.

Me: What are you listening to?

9 year old: Mamma Mia soundtrack. ABBA, actually. Selena Gomez. Who else? Mack Z.

Me: What are your favorite things to watch?

9 year old: Mamma Mia. Liv and Maddie. Kickin’ It. I Didn’t Do It. The 7D, which my brother taught me to like.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

9 year old: A writer or a teacher or maybe a scientist that studies plants.

Me: What are you looking forward to in 4th grade?

9 year old: Switching classes. And having my teacher [she got the teacher she wanted]. And dance parties [4th grade has Friday afternoon dance parties].

Me: What are your goals as an 9 year old?

9 year old: Be more awesomer [sic] than ever.

Me: Any grand pronouncements?

9 year old: What’s that mean?

Me: Really? Again? Any grand statements? Any big thoughts? Here, look it up: “a formal declaration of opinion” or “an authoritative announcement.”

9 year old: Don’t eat bunnies! Bunnies aren’t food!

Me: Really? What does that even mean?

9 year old: Some stores have started selling bunny meat!

Me: What stores?

9 year old: I don’t know.

Me: You want to end on that note? What’s the last thing you want to say.

9 year old: Bye?

Ah, my 9 year old. May it be an “awesomer” year for you.

Me: What’s today?

11 year old: My birthday. August 23, 2014.

Me: How do you know it’s your birthday?

11 year old: Well I know that yesterday was August 22 and tomorrow is August 24, and according to my parents I was born on August 23, and because we are in between August 22 and August 24, it must be my birthday.

Me: How does it feel to be an eleven year old?

11 year old: Exactly as it was to be 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

Me: How did you spend your birthday?

11 year old: I went to this museum thingy [Sony Wonder Technology Lab] and I watched Guardians of the Galaxy.

Me: Did you like the movie?

11 year old: It was like a modern Star Wars.

Me: Is that good?

11 year old: Yeah!

Me: Do you think Star Wars aficionados might take offense at that?

11 year old: Why? It’s a great movie!

Me: Was it a good birthday?

11 year old: Yeah! I got a phone!

Me: What do you like to do these days?

11 year old: Computer programming. Learn Japanese.

Me: Can you be more specific on the computer programming?

11 year old: I like to program games in Unity3d. [Note: 11 year old fixed the spelling of Unity3d. Silly me, following the rules of punctuation.]

Me: What are your favorite books?

11 year old: Probably Lord of the Rings, Sparkers, Bakuman [manga].

Me: What are you listening to?

11 year old: Some K-Pop, bit of Hip Hop, bit of electro and dubstep. Martin Garrix, BIGBANG, Skrillex, Macklemore.

Me: What are your favorite things to watch?

11 year old: Big Bang Theory, Silicon Valley, Mad Magazine, Simpsons.

Me: Isn’t Silicon Valley inappropriate for your age?

11 year old: Yeah. Very.

Me: So why do you watch it?

11 year old: Because it’s funny.

Me: What kind of irresponsible person lets you watch it?

11 year old: My mom.

Me: Sounds like an irresponsible kind of mother.

11 year old: That’s you. You’re talking about yourself.

Me: Hmmm. What do you want to be when you grow up?

11 year old: Computer programer. Game programer.

Me: What are you looking forward to in 6th grade?

11 year old: No freakin’ idea.

Me: What do you think is going to be different this year?

11 year old: I’m going to a new school. I’m going to have to walk longer. That’s pretty much it.

Me: You’re going to middle school and the only difference is you’ll walk longer?

11 year old: I’ll walk longer. I’ll have my own locker with a lock. I’ll have a homeroom and separate classes.

Me: What are your goals as an 11 year old?

11 year old: To get to 12 year old.

Me: Any grand pronouncements?

11 year old: I’m awesome.

Me: What does “pronouncement” mean?

11 year old: Isn’t it like something like saying a big message. Right? Right?

Close enough. Happy birthday eleventh, Doodles!

[This blog post has been approved by Doodles.]