Swell Spotlight: Ask Auburn - Reflections from a High Schooler
Hi. This is another swell spotlight. It's Deborah. Today we have a chance to speak with Auburn. She lives in Minneapolis. She was also born there. Auburn is 16 years old, and I really wanted to have a conversation with Auburn because she is 16 years old and and she's living amidst so many changes as a student, as a person in a world that is changing so fast. And I wanted to throw a bunch of questions at her and really see where she goes with them
And hearing cats be happy just makes me happy. And in my free moments, I'm actually quite an introvert, so I'm not usually rushing to hang out with friends or anything. One of the things I do like to do is just to go to the nearby playground. It's, like three minutes away from my house. I bring my phone, I bring my earbuds, and I just go on the swing and swing for a while
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:38
How does it fit into your life right now? How does it set you free? How's play a role in how you problem solve and how you make decisions and how you relax. Let's talk about creativity
Sometimes there was a time in English class where we were all writing an essay on a book we had read, and the teacher had given us prompts. Well, I finished my whole first draft and was comparing it to others, and I realized that everybody else who had picked the prompt I had written about wrote something wildly different from what I had wrote, and I started thinking crap. That's what we were supposed to write about
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:12
Auburn. That was so interesting. The idea of being different in that split second, you saw that your response was different, and yet you were into it and you forged from forward and you were rewarded. I just think that's such a great life lesson. And I brings up the next question for me. Statistics show that adults lose their use of imagination and their playfulness as they get older because swell. There's a million reasons
Even the Masters have the messiest sketches, but don't think this isn't going to happen because I've tried for a bit and I'm not imaginative. That's why you start and practice and get better. Children don't just come out the womb creative masterminds. It's years of teaching and learning and playing until they truly become super imaginative. So learn new perspectives, learn new skills and then use those skills and perspectives to create something new or add on to something already 8th
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:22
Auburn, if money wasn't an object and you were able to spend your time and all these resources on one invention, something that you would invent that doesn't exist right now. What would you invent that would make the world a better place to be in. I would love to hear your thoughts on that
And I'd create a bunch of medicine making factories that would give away medicine for free. I'd start with insulin because the industry is all kinds of screwing people over by jacked up prices. I'd probably move them to anxiety and depression medications, and then I'd keep expanding it until I have all types of medicine covered. And no one needs to pay to be alive anymore, or, you know, bring the dinosaurs back
And I have to tell you, many of my students in the past would have said something like I would invent a machine that makes as much money as possible, infinite amount of money. Or they would say something like I would invent video game system with all the video games ever made in it. Right. But you mentioned something that affects every single human being on this Earth and that's really access to free health care, not necessarily free health care
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:02
Hi, Auburn. I loved hearing your replies, and I had a few questions for you. So when I was 16, something I found really annoying was that I wasn't legally allowed to vote yet
Meranda Troutt
@MerTroutt · 2:04
They tend to be pretty sad individuals that have these set thought processes and these set opinions that they are very unmoving about, and they don't take their time to really enjoy the day and enjoy the moment with this hustle and bustle of what society is today, where everybody is constantly moving, constantly working. Unless you're in a position like me where I'm a stay at home mom. So I guess that what I'm getting at is I completely agree with you
Sreeja V
@Wordsmith · 1:35
Drugs continue to be very expensive, especially for those who are suffering from cancer treatment regime can prove to be very expensive, as we all know. So it's really very moving and also presents me a glimmer of hope in the generation to come. When I heard you sharing such deep and thoughtful insights on this subject, I had one more question for you, and I wanted to know you said that you love making characters right? Animated characters, and you like to draw them
In fact, I actually kind of see it good that 16 year olds can't vote because just I know so many people at my school alone that are just way too immature to vote, like they say, oh, I'd vote for Trump for the memes, and so on now, for me personally, I kind of like to distance myself from politics whenever possible, because I always find that I reached a point where I just get spun out and tired because of that
And there's a lot of things that go into this, too, like, would this character be singing this song or is the song sung about them? Should I take this lyric metaphorically or literally? There's a lot of different things I do, and sometimes I just try something new and come up with characters. Even I find outlandish, and I guess I'll add this too before somebody asks. But my favorite band is called Tally Hall
Kim M
@kimestryarts · 0:42
I just came across this conversation and it was so lovely. Thank you, Auburn. I really appreciated hearing what you had to share. And I just wanted to share that when you get to a certain part of adulthood, you don't care so much what other people think. So that's something to look forward to. For those of you who still care. So thank you, Auburn. If you happen to revisit this thread, I'd love to know what your parents have taught you about music
Hey, Auburn, I'm interested in that same question. I'm going to at your dad here to make sure he pings you to let you know that Kim is Kim is in the house. Has some questions for you. Can I agree with you about this notion of getting older and getting wiser and feeling less affected by the other people and more affected by how you feel about them and how they feel about you? That's what's important. Beautiful sentiment. Really. Thank you