Do you remember spending most of the year in school, just waiting for it to end so you could be free for the summer? Do you remember what your favorite activity was, or the food your parents fed you that you just couldn't stand? Sometimes, as we get farther away from our more youthful days, we forget the little things that were important to us before we didn't have to think about taxes or meal planning. We may even forget that children are actually a part of our community. They may not know or have an opinion on the economic or political climate surrounding them, but they live in it and are affected by it. They have a place here with all of us.
For this series, we'll get to hear from two young citizens every week. They'll tell us about their hobbies and goals for the future. We'll get to know what's on their minds and maybe remember what it was like to be a kid again.
This week we have 10 year old Caleb:
What do you like most about school?
I like math. I feel like I like knowing that there's only one possible right answer.
What is your favorite food? What about your least favorite?
Um, I like my mom's homemade pizza and her cinnamon rolls. I like pepperoni, pineapple. Um, I've tried Italian sausage and onion, I like that. I hate cheese. I will have it on pizza and that is it okay. I don't like the texture [by itself].
Do you like to read? What do you like to read?
Yes. Um, I like fantasy. Like, I did Harry Potter in a week. I did Lord of the Rings less than a month, and The Hobbit. I like setting goals for myself.
Do you collect anything / play an instrument / play any sports? If not, what would you like to do?
Um, I play the piano. I kind of play the recorder. I'm gonna be doing precaution in fifth grade band. And I do swim team. I do basketball, I'm doing a basketball camp right now.
And I collect random things, like, you can say junk. So I have little, they're like, pom-poms and then they have googly eyes attached to them and then they have, like, big foam feet that are stickers but I haven't taken the sticky part off because I don't want them to get stuck to something. And then they have little cute antenna. I have two of them, they're blue. I like them.
What do you want to do when you grow up?
I'm not sure. I was, like, [younger] I wanted to be a scientist who studied bacteria. I went through a phase where I wanted to be an actor. I'm trying to remember. Oh yeah, a professional magician.
Tell me a goal you have in the future?
I want to get better at running because my dad runs a lot and I like running. I just want to get faster. I also like riding my bike.
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10 year old Kate:
What do you like most about school?
I like typing. It's a new skill that I'm learning
What is your favorite food? What about your least favorite?
Shrimp fettuccine! I don't know. I can't think of a least favorite food. Um, pepperoni pizza. I don't love pepperoni pizza. I like pizza, I just don't like pepperoni pizza. Except for some reason I like pepperoni plain. Don't know why. On pizza, I don't like it.
Do you like to read? What do you like to read?
Yes. I like when it has animals in it. Like, I'm really into dragons right now so I'm reading a book about dragons called “Wings of Fire.” It's really cool.
Do you collect anything / play an instrument / play any sports? If not, what would you like to do?
I do all three of those things. I collect buttons, I play the piano, and I love soccer. I started sewing and I didn't have very many buttons and so I started collecting them, like finding them on the ground. I'd find then and put them in my button jar and now it's, like, really full.
What country would you like to visit, and why?
Australia, to see the koalas.
What do you want to do when you grow up?
I want to start a business where we will watch your pets while you're on a trip, and like a doggy restaurant where it’s food that dogs can actually eat. I've actually tested some of the recipes that I've made up on dogs and they loved it. Like, there's a doggy parfait where it's just like, a little glass cup with whipped cream and then blueberries and whipped cream and then shredded carrots and then more creams. And he loved it. He just doesn't like blueberries so he didn't eat the blueberries but he ate everything else.
Tell me a goal you have in the future?
I wanna be really good at piano and also really good with animals. And I like to run so I want to be a good runner and exercise.
