 |
| Say hello to Shaun. |
This is my friend Shaun Meighan. I have known him since we were both fourteen-ish. That's three years now. I met him through Kilkenny Youth Theatre. Shaun likes playing video games, vlogging, and he builds websites, including Quick Revise, for Junior Cert students, and his personal website, Shaun Plays Games. He is one of the nicest people I know.
Once upon a time a few weeks ago, he tweeted that he'd like to know what it would be like to be interviewed. I volunteered, as I have had some experience in this. After some time passed and we hadn't found a day we were both free to meet, I emailed him some questions. He has given me permission to put his answers, below, up on Apostrophe.
*Describe yourself in five words.
Nerdy, average, nervous, loving, self-sufficient.
*Now we're not fifteen anymore, what is your view on Nerdfighteria? (I have a lot of feelings on this, and I just want to see how you feel, as a person who is not me, but was a Nerdfighter the same time as me. Are you still a Nerdfighter?)
Honestly, I feel that I have outgrown the community. It was great when I was in Junior Cert, it was my only form of expression. Now, though, after TY, I've just grown as a person. Not to offend anyone who is a nerdfighter: it's just not for me anymore.
*Tell me about your website building. How is that coming?
The website building is going good :) I'm teaching myself and am saving for a mac to use a certain program :)
*What five songs would be essential to a Shaun Meighan soundtrack?
- Art Is Dead - Bo Burnham
- A Man's Gotta Do - Dr. Horrible
- Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit - How I Met Your Mother
- 4 Chords - Axis of Awesome
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
*On your Facebook profile, one of your favourite quotations is 'her past is gone, the present hurts, she has no future'. Why? (I know very well what it means.) (From A Vampire Story by Moira Buffini)
I just really like that quote :)
*Tell me about Ravenclaws. Who are they really? Do you identify yourself as an eagle?
I love Harry Potter, it's been with me since I was six, but I've never really identified with any one house - I see bits of myself in all of them. Also, I'm more of an owl :P
*What would you like to do when you leave school?
Computer Science, mainly focused on web design and game programming.
*Why do you vlog about video games? (Do you say video games or computer games or just games?)
I say video games :) The reason I make videos on them is because they are one of the best forms of expression that I can think of. They don't tell a story, they let you live it.
*If you could return to a specific era in history, what would it be and why?
I'd love to live during the Renaissance; all that innovation sounds like heaven to me :)
*How is Quick Revise?
Quick Revise has been a great learning experience for me. It taught me so much about making websites - and managing them, dealing with a lot of users and trying to make changes while the site was in use. I'd love to do some more work on it :)
*What or who influences your wardrobe?
I tend not to base my wardrobe on anyone, I just wear things that I like. Many of my shirts have video game references because it's a way to start a conversation with people who have the same interests that I do.
*Quick-fire round -
- favourite book? Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein
- film? X-Men: First Class
- band or album or both? Green Day
- TV show? Dexter
- website? YouTube
- place? My bedroom
- game? Sky Roads (an old MS DOS game, it's awesome)
- city? Kilkenny
- interviewer? my good friend Eleanor :P
*Shag/marry/kill - Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine), Miriam O'Callaghan (of RTÉ), Michelle Obama (of the White House).
Shag Florence, marry Michelle, kill Miriam.
*The colour pink, discuss.
Pink has a Hex Triplet of #FFC0CB. Pink is any of the colors between bluish red (purple) and red, of medium to high brightness and of low to moderate saturation. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century.
*What advice would you give to anyone who wants to build websites/vlog about games/aspire to some level of ShaunMeighanness?
Be yourself. I say that because I am legally obligated to. Seriously, though, don't say "oh I can't do it" or "what if people think it's stupid?" I used to think that when the teacher asked for volunteers to fix the computer. Now I don't need to even put up my hand; they ask for me. That feels so good. To know that you can offer help to someone is one of the best things you can have. My grandfather told me something that has stuck with me my whole life. Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
I'd really like to make interviewing friends I have in real life a regular feature. (Me here again.) It's interesting what you can learn about people outside the realms of normal conversation when you ask them random questions and put them under pressure to deliver good answers for you lot, and their other friends who will hopefully read this.
If any of my friends in real life are reading this and wouldn't mind being questioned, or would like to plug something cool they're doing, give me a shout. I've got a Dictaphone, so you're in safe hands.
Eleanor Roscuro