Interview With Neal J.
Neal J. is my uncle. He lives in Chicago. He works for a restaurant company. I decided to interview him to get a look at what life for him was like in America when he was a kid, as my parents and other family members were all mostly born in India.
Aanya: “What is one of your earliest memories?”
Neal: “I remember when I was at Kindercare (my daycare) and the Fall time had changed, and I was really scared and worried because it was so dark before my dad came and picked me up. I was so scared that I would get locked in there forever.”
Aanya: “What is the most trouble you have gotten into as a kid?”Neal: ”I got punished once for stealing baseball cards from a store.”
Aanya: “What is the biggest lie you have ever told your parents?”
Neal: “I told them that I was going to Malaysia to hang out with friends instead of what I was really doing, which was meeting a girl.”
Aanya: “What was your childhood like?”
Neal: “My childhood was happy. I remember we lived in a cul de sac. That was cool because it was really fun to ride your pick around, and we would play baseball outside too with all the local kids. There was a small lake close to the playground and we would go fishing there. It was lots of time outdoors.”
Aanya: “What is your biggest regret?”
Neal: “I guess one answer to that is not being in better touch with my brother when I left for college. They were in late grade school and getting into middle school, and I wasn’t being very big brother-ish to them.”
Aanya: “What is the biggest life lesson that you have learned so far?”
Neal: “The biggest life lesson that I have learned is that people matter so much. You cannot do anything alone. You have to think of the human element with everything that you do. No matter how smart you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing it alone.”
Interview With Anupam G. and Surbhi G.
Anupam G. is my dad. He was born and raised in India. I decided to interview him because I thought his life was in big contrast to that of my uncle. Partly because my dad lived in India for most of his life, not in America and he was raised in a crowded family household, with three siblings.
Surbhi G. is my aunt. I wanted to interview her because, even though she lived in India too, she had different experiences than my dad, and I wanted to share them with you all. She grew up in an affluent family.
Aanya: “What is one of your earliest memories?”
Anupam: “At night, we had to soak our sheets in water to keep them cool throughout the night. We had only one air cooler, and everyone would be crowded into one room around it.”
Aanya: “What is the most trouble you have gotten into as a kid?”
Anupam: “I skipped class to play ping-pong, and when the teachers found out they hit my hand with a ruler.”
Aanya: “What is the biggest lie you have ever told your parents?”
Anupam: ”I told my parents I was going to school, and instead skipped and went to the movies.”
Aanya: “What was your childhood like?”
Surbhi: “It was really fun. We used to play a lot in the neighborhood. We were also really silly. We used to make a bed of flowers, and in the morning, when the flowers were scattered around, we used to think that fairies came and slept in the bed. It was really just the wind, though.”
Aanya: “What is your biggest regret?”
Anupam: “I regret not pursuing my dreams of becoming a writer. Instead I became a computer engineer, which is very boring.”
Surbhi: “My biggest regret is not marrying in a business household where I would not have to do anything. At the time I wanted a good career, but now I envy the people who are married into super rich families.”
Aanya: “What is the biggest life lesson that you have learned so far?”
Anupam: “The biggest lesson I have learned is that mistakes help you learn, and that you’re always learning new things everyday.”
Surbhi: “If you work hard, you will always make it eventually. Just try, try, try again until you get there. NEVER GIVE UP.