Add Some FINESSA: Guest Interview

            Once I lived in a hallway where only a thin wooden door separated me from 40 other teenage girls. I came to greatly admire one of those girls for her motivation, drive, fun energy, and all-around powerhouse personality. I plan on being friends with her for a long time because I hope to use her as a reference to climb my way to success when she is the next Steve Jobs or Queen of England. This is good business. But ALSO she is very funny and writes an excellent blog. We interviewed each other and here is the result. So meet Anessa Rogers, writer of the blog FINESSA:  http://addsomefinessa.blogspot.com.

Q: Why do you blog?

 You learn a lot about yourself through writing. My freshman writing class helped heal a lot of wounds and gave me a sense of peace. But as far as my blog goes, I started it in high school, just because I have so many thoughts and ideas and my mind is always racing! Today, like all days, I was listening to Bastille and Dan Smith said the words, “I have written you down, now you will live forever…in eyes not yet created, on tongues that are not born.” By writing it down, I will never forget it. And neither will the world! And neither will my kids when I force them to read my blog to see how smart and funny I was/am/will be.

Q: You're going to Jordan soon and you wrote a post about that, but tell us more about why you study Arabic. Please.

With the growing number of white people wanting to seem culturally aware, I figured it would be good to go into the hummus exportation business, and Arabic would definitely help with that. KIDDING!

The real reason is because I love languages! Arabic is my second foreign language. I love its alphabet, the music, the culture, the FOOD (yes, hummus)- everything associated with Arabic. And I think the Arab world/ Middle East is a place under constant scrutiny and people don’t understand it in its human fullness. I think for that sake it is an important thing to study.

Q: Who is someone you admire?

 I really admire my cousin Mitch. He’s one of those people that are really good at everything they do. But usually people like that have off-putting personalities- or at least that is what I tell myself as a defense mechanism. Mitch has a very pleasant personality. Except for when he lies- he thinks lying is hilarious (it’s something he’s really good at). There are still some things he has told me in the past year that I’m not entirely sure are true. Still, I know I can count on him to pick me up when I’m feeling blue, whether it be a pat on the back or a slap in the face. He’s currently serving a mission in Brazil.

Q: Speaking of admirable people, talk about Beyonce. Which leads us to powerful women and furthermore, your thoughts on feminism in general.

Those words are actually all synonyms. I really like British female artists because they make the music they want and they’re real. I feel like American female artists- Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande- don’t do that. But Beyonce is the exception. Correction: Beyonce is always the exception. She is the perfect combination of sass, class….and glutes.

I guess you could say I’m a feminist, but I don’t think that’s well-received. I just think we should encourage girls from a young age to be smart and independent and funny and have actual thoughts as opposed to being mindless, sexual objects. Is that so bad?

Q: What is it like having a name that, like Beyonce, is so unique you hardly need a last name.

I’m flattered. I thought Anessa was a unique name too- until I found Anessa Shishiedo- a sun tan lotion in….Asia. And it turns out Anessa is similar- almost identical to a name in Arabic. So, in the Middle East and Asia, I’m just another Emily. (No offence to any Emilies.) Everywhere else I can be a one-name wonder…but I just don’t have the credentials to be an international legacy.

Behind the scenes commentary--Me: Well you'll always have a Beyonce name in my book.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 15 years? 

This is interesting because I make 4-5 year plans every other week, but I’ve never been so OCD to plan what my life would be like at age….*using calculator*…34. Probably married (to Joseph Gordon Levitt) with kids, doing an accounting job on the side, before going back to work full-time. But that’s being idealistic. I’ll probably be experiencing the early stages of spinster, still writing blog posts complaining about pop culture.

Q: Five years ago where would you have guessed you would be at age 19.

When I was FOURTEEN. Because I watched a lot of USA network, I wanted to know 8 languages and work as an agent for the CIA. So, I would probably see myself still at BYU- studying something….spy-ish. But I guess it wasn’t too far off. Accounting is pretty sneaky, right?

Q: Is there power in awkwardness?

YES! I feel like the hipster movement is taking everything you were bullied for in grade school and making it cool. All your oversized and thrift-shop clothes you wore then are now “vintage”. And who was bullied most? The weird ones! Have I personally found power from awkwardness? I’m still working on that. But Rachel, I think you are leading the movement of awkwardness being the new “cool”. And I mean that as in the most sincere compliment way….awkward phrasing.

Behind the scenes commentary--Me: That's not true. Have you even met me? I am not awkward. I was asking for a friend. I'm very cool and collected. Also I was already cool in elementary school. The kids who helped the lunch ladies wash the tables in exchange for Twix bars were at the top of the social chain...so I was pretty much the top dog. 

Q: Would you say you have a life philosophy?

I spent a weekend in Baltimore and I met two men in their thirties who were really into meditation. (I promise this relates.) As I was complaining about pop music in these latter days, one suggested to take a meditative approach to this dilemma, i.e. listen to it through the ears of a 13-year-old girl who has never heard anything else.

So, I did, and Katy Perry’s “Roar” gave me an answer to this question. She said, “I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything.” I think everyone needs to have standards, goals, opinions, and/or aspirations. If you don’t, you’ll do anything. Just like eating everything is bad for the body, doing anything is unhealthy for the soul. It’s so important to try to determine what you stand for, especially when you’re young. Thanks, Katy Perry! Now go put on some cone bra.

Thank you Anessa for being on my blog, and thank you readers who read my blog. I love you. For real. Now go read http://addsomefinessa.blogspot.com especially if you want to see the other half of the interview where I answer some questions.