Yet another year is upon us, and it is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce 2016’s first Blogger of The Month, Elvin. It was on this lovely Friday that we both hurried to Chinook Centre to have a chance to talk before the weekend was upon us. Sitting in the quietest place we could find, which was close by the whirring blenders of Jugo Juice, if that tells you anything about the mall on Friday afternoon. Great conversation ensued despite the noise and the overall disorder of our hastily planned outing.
In his final semester at Western Canada High School, Elvin has admirable aspirations and an equally diverse personality and worldview. A poet, chess aficionado, writer and musician, he will soon be moving on with his education, pursuing an economics degree from the University of Calgary, right here in our *pretty awesome* city.
Where do I see myself in ten years? You know what, my strategy is to keep my options open. A lot of people are going to make decisions that make them stick to one thing and one thing and that’s okay. Maybe they want a stable life or maybe they don’t want to grow up yet, maybe they just want ten gap years and I respect that, but my strategy really is to keep my options open.
Elvin has been part of our Youth Are Awesome family for only a few months and joined in order to be able to do more with his writing after discovering his knack for poetry. Having heard about us from blogger Elene, he thought that that YAA would be a cool way to express himself and to get his voice out, as well as explore new writing topics aside from personal interests, which he believes only have a limited niche audience. Elvin’s writing is diverse and engaging; from lighthearted semi-satire to informative pieces to his signature poetry, it’s pretty clear that Youth Are Awesome has gained a valuable asset. When asked where he gets his inspiration, he responded,
I don’t believe in the idea of ideas just coming to existence. I think we draw from other things that we like. Maybe I might have heard those words in that order before, or maybe I just jumbled it up and made something. That’s how I get my ideas; none of my ideas are original. I believe that everything is just copied down, edited, deleted, and that applies to a lot of things. It’s just like genetics; you can’t just make a new person out of a pile of random genes.
As much as Elvin is a really incredible person to talk to about the more important things in life and is so easy to talk to about personal philosophy and the meaning behind his writing, I figured that it would be fun to mix things up and so something silly. I asked him a series of “What’s your favourite ___?” questions and of course, a few ridiculous Would You Rather’s.
Favourite food? “I have so many favourite foods I can’t answer this! I enjoy… meal replacements.”
Favourite colour? “Green.”
Favourite book? “…Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”
Favourite movie? “Back To The Future [The first one].”
Favourite musical artist? “Varien.”
Favourite [school] subject? “Biology.”
Favourite animal? “Kangaroos. They’re really cool.”
Would You Rather: A Personal Favourite Of Mine…(And An Excuse To Make Terrible Puns)
Would you rather…
Have hands for feet or feet for hands? “Hands for feet, because then I can type twice as fast.”
Be invisible or always get noticed at the worst possible moment? “The second one. There’s always a way to make things funny in the worst moments.”
Be able able to speak any language or have mad persuasion skills? “Persuasion skills.”
Be able to snuggle with kittens or puppies all day? “Uhh… Not an animal person. Puppies?”
Sleep all day or work all night? “I’d work all night.”
*It was at this point that an adorable old lady came up to us and asked for directions to the Apple Store. We were happy to oblige.*
Work at Walmart on Black Friday or at the Airport just before Christmas? “The airport. Walmart has really weird people.” (I told an awful anecdote about people who leave strange things at the airport, including prosthetic limbs, and could not resist the chance to joke that the trip must have cost them an arm and a leg. I need professional help.)
It’s been a while since I’ve met someone I can ask really stupid questions to who doesn’t get upset at me, which in my mind is a true mark of character. It’s been an equally long time since I’ve met someone with such an interesting outlook on writing and motivation to write in relation to the rest of life. It was a real treat getting a chance to talk with Elvin, and I look forward to reading more of his work! Happy blogging! You can check out Elvin’s Wattpad and Soundcloud right here.
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