Interview

Liam Doherty class 807

Noreen Doherty

What is a memory of your childhood that you cannot forget, one that might haunt you or one that might bring you joy?

“A memory that brings me joy would be when I was told that I was having a little sister. I was sitting in my parents’ bedroom and they came in when I was five years old and asked me, “Guess what… we have a surprise.  Can you guess what it is?” and here I am thinking it could be that because we had been reading books about Arther finding out that he was having a little sister or something. So that was in the back of my mind. Then, being told that I was having a little sister jumping around screaming all the while because I hated being all by myself all day long, as the only child with no one to play with. Then after my sister was born I found out that we were having another baby.  So there you go two memories in the one go.”

“A haunting memory would be when I was in high school during sophomore year English with Sister Joan. There are many haunting memories there. Being asked “did you as today?” when everyone in the class wasn’t understanding what a verb was and someone had mentioned that the verb was “as” in the sentence.  Sister Joan flipped out on all of us. That would definitely be a haunting memory.”

What were your best and worst experiences as a young adult?  

“Best experiences…probably getting to wander throughout the city during college. I went to school a block away from Central Park that would be a spot that my friends and I would go wander through during our breaks between classes during the nice weather. We would go on the carousel and get lost wandering and have a lot of fun. We would also go throughout the city, just running around on the subways from one place to another. I guess having that ability to get around on your own would be a big highlight and just have fun where ever you go. Even if there is no end destination you’re just figuring out where you’re going.”

“Let’s see is there anything else?  Oh… driving, that’s a big one…especially upstate, even going to the supermarket. But, the one bad thing is being considered my brother’s personal chauffer to go to the water park whenever he feels like it.  Also, kayaking on the Hudson River as a family is a great experience. Especially when the big ships were coming and they would create these huge waves.  That was definitely very fun and scary at the same time. ”

What was your family like/what are some memorable moments you had with them?

‘”Well my family is very close and we went on a lot of trips. We always get in each other’s hair quite often. The pranks that we play on each other are memorable.  Even coming out of the cold and putting are cold hands  down the back of someone’s neck as they’re sleeping, doing work, or watching tv and getting to watching them jump up and squirm.  Also, pushing my brother into the pond off of the dock during the summer is memorable.  I get pushed back into the pond too."  

"When we went to Disney last January, on our last night at Magic Kingdom my brother and sister and I kind of went nuts. It was rainy and misty and the park was empty, we kept running from one end of the park to the other going on each and every ride. We were running around like crazy and trying not to tip over all the little kids that were half asleep and ready to tip over. That was a big highlight running around yelling Disney songs as loud as we could."

"I also remember that we were all very supportive of each other when we all entered projects we had done in school to a fair upstate. Once when I was handed my pictures in, the judge kept saying that they were horrible.   The whole car ride home my brother and sister were trying to cheer me up. They mentioned that we were going for ice cream and that they would do whatever I wanted because they wanted to cheer me up."

How did these events help you grow up?

"After my brother and sister were born I had a lot more responsibilities. I had to look out for them, make lunches for them when they were going to school. I got a motto from sister Joan’s class ‘If I survived her class I could essentially survive anything.’ Now if a class annoys me off or if I get scared about something I think about how I survived her class. The best experiences as a young adult helped me grow up because it gave me a sense of freedom and responsibility. Also, I get to be the knowledge source for getting around the city because no one knows how to read an MTA map. I guess the family experiences helped me grow up because they helped me through the hard times by trying to cheer me up. They are also the only ones who understand my insanity about Harry Potter and Disney."

What is something you feared? How did you get over it?

"I use to fear dogs. That was a scary one. Upstate are neighbor had a dog named Cathie. I forget what kind of dog it was. But this dog was always coming over and apparently all she wanted to do was play. Meanwhile all I wanted to do was run into the house screaming and yelling as she came over. I was petrified of her, petrified. I was afraid to go anywhere outside because the dog would always come over and start barking.  It would completely freak me out. I don’t know how I got over that.  Ya…I’m not sure how that came about. But, maybe I was too young to understand. We have a dog now, I’m not really scared of dogs now unless their big ferocious ones that live in backyards with signs saying “Beware of dog.”"

"I used to also fear talking in front of people, probably still do. Especially in a class setting that’s always been an issue. I’ve gotten better at it though…now I’m more comfortable. The problem is I care too much about what people think about what I’m saying. I usually just go in say what I don’t know because there is probably someone else in the class that has the same problem I have."

"When I was younger I was scared of Santa and the Easter Bunny…the fact that they were coming into the house when I was sleeping always scared me.  The night before they came I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep because of the knowledge that some stranger was coming into the house. That that would creep me out as a little kid. I would be excited about the gifts though. But that definitely creeped me out before I went to bed.

We have a pond and I am always afraid of the little fishes nibbling at me. When I go swimming in it I try to stay and keep my body in the first foot and a half of water you can see in because everything swims below.  There might be a big bass that might want to nibble or something. Even the little Sunnies get me creeped out. But, I still jump in, it’s not a huge fear. I’m paranoid is more what it is like."

What were the most important moments in your childhood?

"There are a couple of them, we got the birth of my sister, then my brother was born and when I got a dog. I guess my whole middle school experience. That was a big chunk. Oh and figuring out I could draw that was a big one. We went to Disney when I was in seventh grade and in Hollywood Studios they had an animation tour of their facilities. And in one part of it they had us draw Goofy and when we were done I was the only one in the family that actually had something that looked like Goofy. So then in the gift shop there I got a “How to Draw Mickey Mouse and His Friends” book. After that I got completely hooked.  I bought other how to draw books from Disney. Then after doing that I realized I could print pictures from movies and draw them too."

"Another big thing was being able to read. I could not read until I was in third grade, it was pretty, pretty bad. I couldn’t read anything. I hated it until I got one of those Little Sister Babysitter Club books and all of a sudden I was completely hooked and went through that entire series real fast."

"Oh and how could I forget Harry Potter!   That was like a huge childhood moment just reading each and every one of those books. It was exciting. I couldn’t wait for the next book. Then, when I got the book I wouldn’t stop until I had finished it. There would be nothing that could distract me from finishing the book from the moment I got the book. Those books are a part of me…they were a huge part of everything."

How did that impact your life? 

"Let’s see, I think for a good part of middle school and high school, probably still do it now, I would use the characters as mentors. I would make comparisons to problems I was having to the problems the characters faced in the books. I guess I based my life around what they lived for:  loyalty, bravery, friendship, knowledge. I had so much fun with the fantasy and the adventure. Those books were completely thrilling."