“I used to live with my mom in Madisonville, Tennessee, and I moved here close to about a month ago.” 

Ella Debity is a 14-year-old freshman here at Heritage High School, and she moved here recently. Her high school experience thus far has been good, and she has made a couple friends, when she didn’t have any before. Her classes seem to be going well, and she seems excited to see how Journalism goes for her.

“I love basketball! I’ve played basketball since the fourth-grade,” she said.

Ella loves to play basketball, and it’s one of her biggest passions. She’s been playing since the fourth-grade. She had said to me how “we aren’t really doing anything to do with that right now” because of Covid and everything else going on. She also has a passion for writing, “mostly short stories.” This is one of the reasons she chose to join the Journalism class, so she will be able to follow one of her passions even in school.

“I have three brothers and three sisters, and I want to be the best person I can be for them to set a good example,” she said.

I asked Ella what motivates her the most. She responded by starting to talk about her three brothers and three sisters. She seems to have a big heart for them, and she seems very caring and empathetic towards them. She wants to set a good example for them for them to grow to their best self and be happy. At this point I realized that she was a really good person. 

I asked her what bothers her the most, in other words, what her biggest pet peeve(s) were. “I can’t stand when people–when someone is going through something–they think that they’ve been through worse, so what’s going on to you shouldn’t matter. I also can’t stand when people complain about everything and try to not look at the good that’s going on around them,” she said. Her response made me see her as a person that is very optimistic, looks at the good in the world, and is thankful for what she has. This is actually a very good quality for anyone to have, and everyone should have it because some people end up being greedy and unthankful or complain all the time and not be open-minded, just like Ella said.

“I listen to a lot of stuff, honestly; when I’m with my dad, we listen to Country, but only when I’m with my dad.”

Ella listens to quite a lot of music all over. She listens to some AJR, Twenty One Pilots, Michael Jackson, and Queen. She listens to some country music, but this is only when she is with her dad, never when she isn’t. I was glad she said only then because Country is a no-go. The other types of music she listens to though was very interesting to be informed of, made me realize she listens to good music.

“Watching Scooby Doo is a bit of a problem.”

Ella has a few hobbies that she does consistently. She plays basketball, writes, paints, and loves to go swimming, “for fun, not competitively.” She also loves to watch Scooby Doo because she loves mysteries and cartoons because it reminds her of being little and not having to worry about anything; it makes her feel happy. She seemed like she really likes the show as she was telling me. Ella seems to have a very artistic and athletic personality and vibe to her, and I like it.

“If it’s something happening immediately, it can be a problem.”

I asked Ella if she listens to her heart or head first. She usually listens to her heart as a first instinct, but soon after she listens to her head. Ella thinks very shortly after with her head, but she seems to be a little more emotional since she listens to her heart at first instinct. I could tell that she knows it is important to have a balance of reason and emotion. 

“I just about criticize everything that I do.”

Ella’s strengths and weaknesses consist of a few things. She mentioned that for one of her weaknesses, she criticizes a lot of what she does. With her strengths, she is a pretty good leader when it comes to stuff, especially when she knows people well. She likes to really be in charge of a lot of things. She said that it can become a problem and be a weakness if things don’t go her way; she can become irritated.

“I love to write; I’ve been writing since the sixth grade.” 

Ella loves to write, and this is one of the reasons she is now in Journalism. When she had to write essays for class and research everything, she enjoyed it when everyone else didn’t. I related to her on this, with me also enjoying writing and somewhat researching. I could tell that writing plays a big part in her life and that she really enjoys it.

I had a great experience talking to Ella, and asking her questions about herself to get to know her better. She seems like a sweet girl, and a very caring person. Her passions really interested me, and I was glad she was able to explain herself and how she was. I hope she enjoys this class, and makes many more friends to come, including myself.