Last Sunday I had the pleasure to meet May’s blogger of the month, Kandance Peroramas, to discuss topics ranging from writing to music. Though having only been writing at YAA for over a month now, Kandance has already established herself as someone who posts quality material about many different topics. What struck me from our conversations was the fact that she was not afraid to vouch for issues she is passionate about and can relate those issues to many different topics. She is certainly a very friendly person as well and we quickly realized our similarities after talking and there were many!
We met up at the Shawnessy Library, which is also attached to her high school, Bishop O’Byrne. Kandace was able to show me around some places she visited regularly such as the choir room (she values music highly and is a member of her school choir) and the main hallway leading up to classes, all of which she is taking at the honours level. Coincidentally there was also a small market there as well, and we were able to have a meaningful conversation over some tea. Read some of what she had to say below:
Q:Â I really liked the fact that you wrote an introductory blog post about yourself, but for those who haven’t read it, let’s start with some basics. What are some things about yourself you would like readers to know?
A: Well for starters, what I want others to know is that I really identify with school, traveling, and music; those are some things I covered in my introductory blog. I’m very dedicated to my education. I love school, I’ve always loved school and I think that I’ve been influenced by my parents to continue my studies. For aspects like the arts, I love singing and performing in front of a crowd. I started with church choir and then I  joined regular choir in high school. I also love to read. I think besides sleeping, that would be my favourite hobby. I’ve also recently been into travelling. Considering that I just had a trip to Europe last year, I’ve been really influenced by the world  and I would like to see more of it.
Q:Â All of us at Youth Are Awesome joined for a reason, what made you want to start blogging in the first place?
A: When I started Grade 10 I decided to take all honours classes so that meant I couldn’t have any option classes. One of the option classes I was interested in was the Leadership Club, which is dedicated to volunteering. Since I couldn’t do that I started searching up youth volunteering opportunities in Calgary and specifically for mental health associations. I came across Partners for Mental Health, the Canadian Mental Health Association, ConnecTeen, and then the Youth Volunteer Corps and from there, I also found the Youth Distress Centre and they had a volunteer opportunity for blogging and that’s where I saw Youth Central and YAA. That wasn’t the first time I had heard about Youth Are Awesome but then I was scared about blogging, I wasn’t really confident. However, I soon figured that if I wanted to participate in the community more and have my voice be heard, then I might as well join, I have nothing to lose.
Q:Â You are an avid volunteer with various organizations, what is the most rewarding thing about helping others?
A:Â Personally, the most rewarding thing is just being able to help people and being able to dedicate time to others. We’re always so busy with other different things that it’s nice to just take a breather and help people out. I love bringing a smile to people’s faces because I feed off the positivity and happiness of others so volunteering makes life a litter bit easier and less stressful that way.
Q:Â As a passionate writer, what are some important things to consider for you personally while writing?
A:Â I need to consider the fact that I myself must be attracted to what I’m writing about and that I’m not writing a post because I have to meet a deadline. I need to be able to write form the heart and think about what I personally would like to read about such as music, drama, and travelling.
Q:Â What post of yours up to date have you identified most with and why?
A: I think either the YYC Festival Volunteering post or the How to Reconnect with Yourself blog because those focus on taking time for yourself as well as helping others, both of which are very important to me. If I were to read those posts, I feel like it would be something I would refer to time and time again.
Q:Â What are some topics that you would be interested in writing about in the future?
A:Â In the future, maybe more about my experience in Drama. I haven’t really touched base on that because I’ve been writing a lot of posts about music and volunteering. Also, teaching people to express themselves through drama and public performance would be something I would be interested about writing about too.
Q:Â And because I’m a huge fan of hearing about peoples’ music tastes, what are some songs and artists that you listen to?
A: At the moment, I’ve been very interested in Kodaline. They’re an Irish band and they’re also coming to Calgary. I think they’re playing in a 18+ bar though which is unfortunate! The problems of being underage! Songs that I’ve been liking by them are “Unclear” and “Love Like This”, they’re pretty different but both very inspiring and one of them features a children’s choir, which is really nice. I also like Lana Del Rey (insert interlude of mutual fangirling over our love for her and how her albums make us shed tears of admiration) she’s been my favourite for a very long time and I hope she comes to Canada — not just Toronto or Montreal.
Q:Â Finally, to wrap it all up, if you could say anything to a crowd of people, what would you say?
A: I actually was given a question like this in one of the courses I had to take! The answer would probably still be the same; I would like people to be more aware of youth empowerment, women’s rights, and how education is important to reach your goals and ambitions. I want people to realize that the first step in doing something is to be educated about it and to learn about it. Definitely stay in school guys! There are many inequalities in this world and I would like people to know that just because you’re a female doesn’t mean you cant do something. You’ll be able to do anything you can as long as you put your heart into it. Also, just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t do some of the things adults think that they can do because there really is no limit in your ability to achieve your dreams and to change the world.
