Discussion Questions can be a really fun way to get to know someone. Mackenzie Bailey, Peyton Whitaker, and Jason Wells answered ten discussion questions each and had varying answers.

Mackenzie Bailey (Freshman)

If you wrote a book about yourself what would you call it?

“If it was about myself, it would probably have something to do with all the books I’ve read and with all of this and of the differences of everything we’re having to go through [with COVID-19]. I can’t think of exactly what I would call it, [though].”

If you got a call from future you what would you ask about?

“I would ask if things got any better. That would probably be the very first thing I asked.”

When was the last time you laughed so hard you could hardly stop?

“I’ve had a lot of times where something made me crack up. I had an instance last night where something made me laugh very much and it took me a few minutes to stop laughing. I just had to get it out. It was just one of those moments.”

What is your favorite book? What is it about?

“My favorite book is between two. One’s called Eliza and Her Monsters (Francesca Zappia) and it’s about this girl who has this web comment online. No one knows who she is online, though. She’s very famous online, yet is pretty much bullied at school. And she’s very lonely at school. She meets this kid and when things escalate her comment is leaked out and it’s about the story of her figuring out how to deal with everything. The other one is called We Survivors (L.J. Thomas) and it’s a post-apocalyptic story. It’s kind of funny because it was released right before quarantine started. It’s basically about these four kids who are affected by a disease that came around in waves and eventually killed pretty much everyone, but these four kids were immune to it. It’s the story of them trying to find what has happened.”

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“I want to be a veterinarian. The other thing [I would want to be] would be something in the astronomical biology field.”

If you could live anywhere else in the world other than here for a year where would you go? Why?

“I’d probably either go back to Virginia, because I enjoyed it a lot up there. Or I’d go to Singapore to see it again, to enjoy that again and actually get to experience it since I was so young when I lived there.”

If you could have dinner with a fictional character, who would you pick and why?

“That is an extremely hard one because [my dinner] would be a gigantic banquet of a bunch of characters. It’d be the Golden Trio from Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling), plus Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood. And then, it would be the seven from Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan), so Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, plus Grover and Nico. And then Nadia and Jake from We Survivors (L.J. Thomas), Eliza from Eliza and Her Monsters (Francesca Zappia), and then Sophie Foster from Keeper of the Lost Cities (Shannon Messenger).”

What qualities make a good friend?

“Being able to put trust in them and being able to truly trust them [and] knowing that they’ll be loyal [is what makes a friend a good one]. They’ll be loyal if something happens but if they don’t agree to what had happened, then that’s a different story. But just knowing that they’ll be there for you when you need it and [that they’re] truly being a friend and not someone who’s just pretending to be.”

Would you rather act in a play or be a behind the scenes contributor?

“I’d wanna do both. With some social anxiety, I wouldn’t want to be the main character. I would never want to be the main character. I was in theater my 6th grade year and I enjoyed it. I loved it, so even just a background character or a side character I think would be fun. Or I would want to be backstage doing costumes or sets.”

What is your favorite musical instrument and why?

“Funny thing to ask someone who has no musical experience. Clarinet and trombone are what my best friend and my boyfriend play. And then, harmonica just because it’s one of the few [instruments] I know how to play. I enjoy doing it [but] I’m not good at it.”

Peyton Whitaker (Sophomore)

If you wrote a book about yourself what would you call it?

“[I would title my book] My Crazy Adventures because I do lots of crazy things in my life and I enjoy it.”

If you got a call from future you what would you ask about?

“[I would ask about] how my life is going then.”

When was the last time you laughed so hard you could hardly stop?

“Probably last Friday night during a movie that me and my friends were watching [was the last time I laughed really hard].”

What is your favorite book? What is it about?

“Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck) [is my favorite book]. These guys got a job at a ranch and the people there didn’t really like them. Bad things happen at the end to one of the characters.”

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“[I want to be] either a pilot or an architect.”

If you could live anywhere else in the world other than here for a year where would you go? Why?

“[I would live in] Utah because I really like that place and it’s closer to a lot of my family.”

If you could have dinner with a fictional character, who would you pick and why?

“[I would] probably [have dinner with] some superhero because it would be cool.”

What qualities make a good friend?

“Personality is probably the biggest [thing that makes a good friend], [along with] how they treat me and others.”

Would you rather act in a play or be a behind the scenes contributor?

“[I would rather help] behind the scenes.”

What is your favorite musical instrument and why?

“Trumpet [is my favorite] because my dad played when he was in high school and it’s one of the more popular instruments.”

Jason Wells (Sophomore)

If you wrote a book about yourself what would you call it?

“[I would call it] The Life of Jason”

If you got a call from future you what would you ask about?

“Who is [the] president? Is the currency the same?”

When was the last time you laughed so hard you could hardly stop?

“Literally the other night when I was with a bunch of friends.”

What is your favorite book? What is it about?

“The Eleven (Tom Rogers) is a story about 9/11.”

What do you want to be when you grow up?

“I want to be a veterinarian. I am already in classes for it.”

If you could live anywhere else in the world other than here for a year where would you go? Why?

“[I would move to] Rio because last time we were in Rio it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of sightseeings and it was really nice.”

If you could have dinner with a fictional character, who would you pick and why?

“I would want to go to the Krusty Krab and try the burgers.”

What qualities make a good friend?

“ [People are good friends] when they’re loyal.”

Would you rather act in a play or be a behind the scenes contributor?

“I’d probably rather act in a play because I haven’t done that before.”

What is your favorite musical instrument and why?

“The guitar [is my favorite instrument] because most of my friends play it and I used to have one.”