During our interview, I learned things about Lluvia I fear I would not have found out if we had not sat down and had this conversation. Lluvia and I attended Olympic Middle School in Shelton. We met as two awkward 6th graders in Ms. Coppos’band class. Sadly, in the earlier years of high school, we started to grow apart – but not long ago our long lost friendship was rekindled and this was the perfect opportunity to catch up and learn some lesser-known things about her.

Lluvia invited me over to her house to be interviewed. She lives with her mom, two younger siblings, and their adorable and hyperactive Boston Terrier, Daisy. One thing that was very apparent from seeing how Lluvia interacts with her family is how caring she is. Lluvia is often described as “the mom friend” by her close friends and based on the relationship she has with her mom, it’s easy to see where she gets it from.

After taking Daisy on a walk with Lluvia, we got set up for the interview. Before I could even ask the first question, she stood back up and went into her closet, and pulled out a Succulent Plants Lego set. Working on the Lego set and making jokes kept the interview pretty casual.

Lluvia describes herself as “a little socially awkward”, and on first impression, you may agree, however,  if you ever have the pleasure of really getting to know her, you’ll find a very passionate and creative person. For example, when Lluvia isn’t creating her own art you might find her working on a new set design for a play, Lluvia took up Stagecraft and Ms. Cummins was so fond of her work that she personally asked Lluvia if she was interested in joining the stage crew to help direct stage design after school. Since then, Lluvia has had a hand in the making of plays such as our school’s take on the movie Matilda. I then asked about some of her best recent memories. She recalls hanging out with friends and having little picnics in May when the sun would come out.

Later in the conversation, we got a little more serious. We spoke about her experiences during her four years of high school, especially being in school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lluvia says she didn’t take high school seriously until Junior year. That school year she realized that if she wanted to get into a good college of her choice she would have to work on her GPA. Throughout most of our Junior year, covid was at its peak. Everyone was under government-mandated quarantine, so it’s very admirable that Lluvia was able to maintain her sanity and make it through the year while raising her GPA. She now has a “golden” GPA of 3.5 and will be attending Western Washington University. 

I asked Lluvia if she had any advice for underclassmen. She leaves them with this:

“Take advantage to have the freedom to try new things.”