With the ability to write about a wide range of topics, Dhriti is certainly a refreshing and bright personality to have on YAA. I had the utmost pleasure of meeting with her at Vendome Cafe and chatting over our salads, meat pie, and sandwich.
Very eloquent and thoughtful when she speaks, it felt easy taking on topics of discussion such as school, current events, and goals for the future. The chatter and aroma of coffee around us definitely fueled our ability to just talk and have fun.
The warm ambiance of Sunnyside was in full effect as we made our way to the container park afterwards, and through our insightful conversations and picture-taking galore, I knew Dhriti was undoubtedly a great choice for November’s Blogger of the Month!
“Hi there! My name is Dhriti and I’m currently a grade 11 partial I.B. student at Sir Winston Churchill High School. I’m a vegetarian, avid reader, chocolate-eater, feminist, LGBTQ+ activist, and aspiring journalist. When I’m not doing homework, you can probably find me taking photos of my cat, finding more obscure (and pretentious) music to listen to, or blogging for YAA! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my posts!”
1. In your blogger bio, it says you are a vegetarian and LGBTQ+ activist. Are these aspects in your life things you immediately wanted to be or were they things you slowly built up to?
»» “My whole family is vegetarian, so being vegetarian has always been a part of my life. I always have the choice to not be vegetarian if I want, but I just grew up with it, and I really appreciate all it has taught me, so I think it’s definitely something I chose to include in my life. As for LGBTQ activist, I wasn’t always aware of those sort of things, especially when I was little. But I think once I did gain some knowledge about that, I definitely thought it was worth advocating for and fighting for.”
2. You also mention that we “can probably find you finding more obscure (and pretentious) music to listen to.” So who are your favorite artists and bands, and what genres of music are you interested in?
»» “I mostly listen to alternative and indie music. Some of my favorite artists would be Melanie Martinez, Vampire Weekend, Lorde, and Arctic Monkeys. I’m not very strict on what kind of music I listen to. I’m very open to new things; I’m always trying out new playlists because I just like listening to things that sound good!”
3. When people look at your posts, some are personal and some pertain to politics and current events. For example, looking at posts like “At A Standstill” and “Not Like Other Girls,” which show a very introspective side of you, is being introspective something you’ve always been or just a good way of writing for yourself and for an audience?
»» “I feel I have been that way for a long time; I always remember my teachers in elementary school complimenting me on my essay-writing skills, since when we do personal reflections, I really get into it. But I never really realized I could write articles that way until recently, but when I did, I was very glad that I can. I think it’s a very good way to not only express yourself, but also it expresses a sentiment in a way that I feel is hard to do in other ways. I’m glad that I am an introspective person because that kind of self-understanding, and trying to channel it through writing, has always been important to me.”
4. Like I previously mentioned, you like to write about current events. Is that something you always wanted for your blog or something that just happened because of life’s circumstances?
»» “I think that was a bit more circumstantial. I also realized when I joined Youth Are Awesome, I really do like writing articles where I tend to research a lot. Current events or informational articles are very typical of journalism, so they are good picks because you can research and write something detailed and informative. They usually turn out good, I think!”
5. How do you choose what to write next?
»» “A lot of the time, I open the Notes app on my phone whenever I get an idea, and I just write it there. When it comes time to write an article, I choose whichever idea pertains most to how I’m feeling and what’s going on in the world. If it’s one of those current event articles, obviously it’s because it happened recently. For example, I wrote one about the Orlando Pulse club shooting, and I wrote it on the day that it happened. So it really depends on what’s going on and what pops into my brain.”
6. Think about which post resonates with you most. What was the writing process for that post like?
»» “I feel the one that resonates with me most would be one of my more personal ones since they are about me and my feelings. I really did like writing “At A Standstill” because it was definitely a good reflection of how I was feeling. It did take me less time than a lot of my research-based articles do because I didn’t have to research anything. But it did take time in the sense that I had to reflect and think, and decide how much I wanted to share about myself online. I did find the words were flowing out of me. When I did stop, it was just to think about what I would say next.”
7. Who inspires you to write?
»» “When I was very little, I always admired my favorite authors. I always wanted to become the next J.K. Rowling, which is not an easy thing to do. I guess it’s just authors who write good material or journalists who report on what’s important and not only what they know will do well online or in the world. I think with how our society is going, everyone always says how books and journals are dying, but I think the people who are trying to keep it alive really inspire me.”
8. Just going back to one of your articles, “At a Standstill,” where you talk about moving back to Calgary, what have you learned ever since making that move?
»» “I expressed this in the article, too, but when I moved back to Calgary last August, I was very scared of what people from my elementary school would think because it seemed daunting to go from a new city to high school. But what I learned was that it really didn’t matter as much as I thought it did. Maybe it seemed like a big deal at the time, but I was just stressing myself out over nothing. Everyone that did recognize me were very nice, and I think grade 10, when I started, was overwhelming because it was so much new stuff. High school is definitely not easy at first because there are a lot of things that are alien to you, but once I got used to it, everything seemed okay. Looking back on it, I even feel a little silly because I was so worried.”
– Is there something about Calgary that stands out most to you?
»» “I really like the landscape, actually. Calgary and Edmonton are pretty similar in the people and city, but I think Calgary has really beautiful views. I just love the hills, they’re my favorite thing.”
9. How do you think Youth Are Awesome will help you in the future?
»» “Currently, I do aspire to be a journalist of some sort, so Youth Are Awesome will definitely help in that respect because even right now, I feel like it’s helping me. I had English last year, first semester, and Youth Are Awesome helped me make sure my writing is constant and keeps me in check in terms of the stuff that I’m writing so I can practice. I know that when I don’t write for a long time, I become really rusty, so I think Youth Are Awesome is helping me now and will help me in the future to build those writing skills. I think it’s good to experiment with your writing and incorporate different media formats into that writing, which I’m really grateful for.”
10. Is there a book, quote, movie, or song that reflects who you are as a person?
»» “I really like the message that “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle portrays because it’s one of the more classic books, but no matter how many times I read it, I really connect to it. Even though it’s basically my favorite book, it reflects me as a person, and maybe that’s why it’s my favorite book. It discusses topics that are very relevant to me. It’s just a good book to read if you want to feel good about yourself and the world. It merges that love of people and books.”
Although that was the last formal question, Dhriti and I had fun doing a lightning round that will give you even more insight to our BOTM. Keep reading to see her awesome answers!
- Favorite place in the world? San Francisco.
- Biggest aspiration in life? To become a writer.
- Tell me about your favorite memory. When I was little, my mom and I used to go on the bus a lot. I just loved to bus so much, so the memory of waking up, watching Sesame Street, eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast because that was acceptable, then going on the bus with my to the park was really fun.
- What show are you binge watching? Stranger Things.
- Is there someone you’d like to see in concert? Either Melanie Martinez, Vampire Weekend, or Lorde.
- Favorite fictional character? Hermione Granger. She’s a great gal.
- Where do you see yourself in thirty years? Probably old. I’ll be 46 then, so that’s pretty old. Maybe, hopefully, in a relationship, have kids by then, who knows! That’s a long time away. Whatever I’m doing, as long as I’m happy.
- What are you looking forward to most this school year? I kind of look forward to being busy and to get into the swing of things.
And obviously the most important question…
- Clinton or Trump? Clinton because she’s the only choice.
A huge thank you to Dhriti for diligently answering my questions and being lovely company. I hope you all look forward to her articles on Youth Are Awesome just as much as I do!
» To read posts from our Blogger of the Month, click here.
*All pictures are either mine or Dhriti’s unless stated otherwise.*
Best wishes,
Kandace 🙂