Rosie is one of the wonderful frosh of Willy AB. She is always energetic and likes giving us Junior Advisors [JAs] piggyback rides, so I sat down with her to chat about that, Ancient Greek and Vines.
We’ll start with a generic question: why did you decide to come to the College?
All of the buildings are really beautiful. My favorites are Hollander Hall and Sawyer Library.
What do you like about the buildings?
The architecture. It’s very clean but also cozy at the same time. The library is why I came here.
Do you like studying in Sawyer now that you’re here?
No. I never get anything done in Sawyer. [Laughs.] I mean yes. I love studying in the library. Studying in the library is my favorite thing to do.
What classes are you taking this semester?
I am enrolled in “Intermediate Greek,” “Plato with Footnotes: Ethics,” “The Cell” [Biology 101] and “Introductory Psychology.”
Why did you decide to study Greek and Plato?
Plato just sounded like a cool class when I read the description on the internet, so I did it. I’m taking Greek because I’m supposedly a classics major. That is the idea because if you add up all of the years, I’ve taken 10 years of classical languages in high school and middle school. I took Latin from seventh through 12th grade and Greek from ninth through 12th.
What do you like most about classical languages?
It’s kind of dope that you can read stuff that people wrote a really long time ago.
Do you think that their true voices get lost in translation and that you need to know classical languages to really understand them?
Oh, that’s a deep question. Actually, yeah. I took this class in high school called “Women in Antiquity,” and we talked about how translators put their own spin on it. There are some words that can have multiple translations, so it’s beneficial to know exactly what they’re saying. And there are certain words that mean the same thing, and [sometimes] they use a specific word because it has some sort of underlying message.
That’s cool! I also know that you rowed in high school but have transitioned to coxing at the College. How has that adjustment been?
It’s super fun. The team is dope. I rowed for five years. But high school rowing is very different from collegiate rowing, and I knew that I didn’t want to row in college because it’s almost all sweeping, which is rowing with one oar. My high school program [had] small boats sculling, which is rowing with two oars, and I prefer that. I’ve always been pretty small for a rower and initially went into my high school program wanting to be a coxswain. But that was freshman spring, and I had done Learn To Row in eighth grade, so I knew the basic form. When they put us all in the tanks, my form was pretty good, so they were like ‘we’re gonna have you row,’ and I actually liked it. Well, it’s a love-hate relationship, I guess. But I love being a coxswain. It was stressful at first, but now that I kind of know what I’m doing, it’s really fun.
Can you tell me a bit about your family?
I have two dads and a brother, and no mom or sister, which is sort of unusual, as I’ve learned over the years. Growing up, it was super normal for me because I didn’t know anything else, but then I was going through elementary school, and each of my friends had a mom and a dad. I didn’t think about my situation until I realized that it was different.
What is your relationship with your brother like?
My brother! Brudda bear! He’s so cool. He’s into music, and I think a lot of my taste in music comes from him because we share a Spotify [account], and he always plays dope music.
What artists and genres do you two listen to?
R&B, funk and jazz. My brother actually went to college for two years and majored in classical opera. He’s a singer and has always been the musical one.
What do you think you’d like to be when you grow up?
My dads are both doctors, so I always thought [I would] be a doctor, but that means that I have to be pre-med. Oof. If I figure out how to not procrastinate so much, maybe I will be a doctor.
You have shown me a lot of hilarious YouTube videos and Vines. Can you recommend a few to our Record readers?
A classic is Noah Ritter, ‘the apparently kid.’ At a state fair, this woman [was] interviewing him about a ride, and he [said] ‘apparently’ every five seconds in the funniest way. Also, a favorite Vine of mine is Jimmy Fallon – he says, ‘Vitamin C is Spanish for vitamin yes,’ and that’s it, and his face is just floating in front of a sunset. I don’t know why I find it so funny. [Another one is] the “Chopped” wontons Vine. It’s this woman on the show, “Chopped,” who is like, ‘I forgot the wontons were still in the fryer,’ and the judge gasps, and it’s so funny because his face is absurd. Another one that my other JA, the one and only William Richard Burford Jr. [’20] quotes all the time is ‘It’s an avocado! Thanks!’
Speaking of funny things, sometimes you like to give Will, Jessica [Gutierrez ’20] and me piggyback rides. Can you tell me why?
Here’s a little background: the other Saturday, I was hanging out with my team, and I had one of my rowers get on my back. I then decided that it would be a good idea to squat her because why not? Admittedly, she weighs less than I do. So that was funny, and I like to give my JAs piggyback rides because I think it’s hilarious. I like to scare Will, and it’s really easy to scare him when I have him on my back and run toward something that doesn’t move. Or I throw candy at him.
Yikes. Okay, last question: what is the most important lesson you’ve learned during your first two months at the College?
I kind of knew this already, but don’t be fake. I don’t want to say, ‘be yourself’ – that’s dumb. But don’t try to be something that you’re not because that’s a lot of energy that you’re expending, and it could be used on much better things, and you’re going to make friends who aren’t really your friends and who don’t make you that happy.
