Waffles, coffee, friends, and good conversation. Aren’t those some of the cardinal joys in life? I got all of these things and more when I met with fellow blogger and Media, Science, and Technology Editor Danielle this past Sunday at the relatively-new Buttermilk Fine Waffles. Being a student of Western, I have often heard tales of my peers’ after school pilgrimages to the atmospheric stop, and as Danielle is a student at Churchill, who testifies that the “only place we have is McDonalds”, grabbing breakfast there was definitely an experience. It was made complete by the beautiful presentation of the waffles, and the even greater taste of them. Sitting down with our fruit waffles and Phil + Sebastian coffees, we were in the perfect mood to discuss a wide variety of topics, including (but not limited to) school, extra-curriculars, relationships, general life, and of course, blogging.
Being a grade 11 student at Winston Churchill High School, Danielle is a member of her school’s Model United Nations club, Debate, and Speech, and is also a member of Junior Achievement this year. Having first joined Youth Are Awesome in June just earlier this year after hearing about the program from blogger Didi, she immediately distinguished herself with her unique writing voice and choice in topics. She is unafraid to blog about subjects surrounding science and technology that captivates her attention, and this distinction, among other things, secured her position of Junior Editor. Her bright, understanding, and easy-going personality was further reaffirmed during our chat, and we shared some good laughs about how competitive Western and Churchill are when it comes to Debate and MUN, though many of the kids are friends through their connections with Youth Central, just as we are.
One of the things about Danielle that really stood out to me was how easy it was to talk to her. Though we had worked closely as Junior Editors in the past, this was really one of the first opportunities we had to talk at length. I soon realized that we shared many similar sentiments, and I found that she had an incredible sense of self-awareness, which we both agreed is one of the key factors of being happy. That being said, Danielle is also a vibrant and happy individual, whose joy is contagious and certainly rubbed off on me.
When asked about what a cool fact about her was, she immediately responded with “I have a twin”. It was pretty evident that she has been given that response to everyone who has asked that in the past. She knows that people tend to get the impression that her and her sister are on polar opposite sides of the spectrum, but that’s not the case. Danielle’s younger sister by a few minutes, Amanda, who attends Churchill, and, like her, is also involved extensively in her school and Youth Central, and although Danielle admits that this causes an air of competition between them, family is really the most important thing at the end of the day:
“We’re both really driven, and it creates competition sometimes because we are trying not to join the same thing. I can feel pressure to keep up with her but it’s nice as well since we can help each other and motivate each other. Family’s family.“
She also emphasized how motivating it can be to have someone like that in he life, and having someone who can help her out with school since they’re taking many similar subjects is also a plus.
Like many other bloggers, Danielle first joined YAA due to the desire to join an extra-curricular. However, she took her own personal enjoyment into consideration as well:
“I joined YAA because I wanted to embrace my passion for writing; it’s my favourite thing to do in my spare time.”
Though some may join a committee for the sake of joining, Danielle made sure that she truly liked what she was getting herself into. She even said that she would become an author if it were more attainable: “I once considered writing a book, but decided that blogging would be less time-consuming and fun. I would be an author if I had a choice in this world. I might become one if I can sustain that with whatever I’m doing later on in my life.”
MUN, Debate. Speech, and YAA, all these language-focused interests probably means something, right? In fact, Danielle wants to study speech pathology in the future for reasons she explains:
“It’s my way of expressing myself. Some people have music, some have art, etc… That’s what they use to achieve emotional catharsis, but for me, speaking and writing is what I actually enjoy doing. I like expression my opinion and advocating for what I believe in.”
It is often rare to find someone with whom you can have an easy-going conversation with without feeling forced or stagnant, and talking with Danielle over waffles was one of those hard-to-come-by times. I thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast date, and I can’t wait to see Danielle’s work in a new light now that we are better friends.
Thanks for the great experience and keep up the awesome work!