This interview is with Jamilla, a great friend, a great Wattpadder and a great writer.
She wrote First came love, then baby, then marriage?, The Adventures of Cassie, Life in Immortality, Reflections of An Amateur, Poems from a Trouble Mind, The Light, Like a Leaf, Within And Without, and The Tragic Symphony.
She's an intelligent young lady and I really liked reading this, I hope you do, too.
Enjoy!
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1. Where do you live and what do you love the most about it? What's the hardest part of living there?
I live in Georgetown, the capital city of Guyana, which is found on the coast South America. What do I love the most about Guyana? Well two things the people and the atmosphere. The people in Guyana are so warm and friendly. I remember once, being in the line at the cashier in a supermarket, and simply smiling at the woman behind me. She said hello and on came her life story (very interesting btw)...lol. The atmosphere is relaxed, happy and slow paced. It really gives you the opportunity to enjoy life, regardless of your socio-economic status.
Sigh... the little good it has is littered with the bad, so much so that one tends to forget the good. A sad reality I know. Anywho, the hardest part of living here believe it or not is getting an education. As education is the gateway to a better life, it is seen as the most important thing parents could give to their children. But getting an education is Guyana is hard because of the lack of (good, qualified, passionate) teachers.
2. Who has been the biggest role model to you in your life and what influence did they have on you?
The biggest role model would be my father. He has, by annoyingly watching news and the like ALL THE TIME, which morphed into him and I debating world issues, lol, roused my interest in the world around me, thus making me more aware of the world in which I live.
3. What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
Spare time? Um... what is that again? Whenever I have "spare time" I usually spend it on Wattpad or talking to friends or sometimes I go outside and listen to the sounds of nature or random thinking.
4. What aspects of your personality do you like the most and the least and why?
Hmmmm.... This is a tough one. I like the fact that I'm a good listener (at least I think I am, lol). Why? Because it is not only important to be heard but to listen to others as well. I think that we sometimes get so caught up in being heard and sharing our problems, that we forget that other people have problems too. I dislike the fact that I am so god-damn indecisive ... I find it horribly unappealing.
5. Where do you see yourself in ten years' time and what are you doing to get yourself there?
Well in the next ten years' time I shall be a general physician, working during the week and doing charity on the weekends. Well I jumped over the first hurdle last year June (5 weeks... 26 examinations...12 subjects...sounds exciting right?) and the next hurdle is a two year course kind of like AS and A level, then after that comes university (hopefully I'll get to go to St. George's ) and that's basically it.
6. What is your favorite song?
Favourite song? Wow... how can I possibly choose? At the moment, however, my favourite song would have to be Crazier by Taylor Swift. It just takes me to my happy place.
7. What got you started writing and why?
Well, in my country there is this exam called CSEC , it's a regional exam, for the English component one has to be able to write a short story amongst other things. So I had to start writing, and all of a sudden, my teacher likes my work, I'm a hog for attention lol, so all of a sudden I like writing. And I never would have known if I wasn't forced to do it in the first place lol.
8. Do you consider yourself to be primarily a poet, or a story writer and why? Which do you prefer?
Oh, I love both forms of writing but these days I seem to be quite into the poetry thing, I am actually scared to call myself a poet or a writer because it just seems so impossible and not like me, lol. Did that even answer the question?
9. What do you feel are the easiest and hardest things about writing?
The easiest thing : picking a topic.
The hardest thing: doing a plot and sticking to it.
My brain is so random that whenever I start a story, I don't quite know how it's going to end or the route it takes to get there, I sort of wing it.
10. Which of your works is your favorite and why?
I simply loved the poem: The Pain Of Words. After I wrote it I read it over and was like ....wow... where did that come from? It was so relatable and yet not. Lol .
11. What was the first book you ever read and what did you like about it?
The first book I ever read over 12 pages was mostly likely Alice in Wonderland. The whole fairytale aura sucked in my 8 year old mind and I've never stopped reading since.
12. What book has had the biggest impact on you personally and how?
The book Ugly by Constance Briscoe , is one of the greatest books I have read, hands down lol. It caused me to appreciate and I mean really appreciate all that I have and taught me that nothing, absolutely nothing can hold you back from your dreams, if you really want it, that is.
13. If you could choose any writer, living or dead, to spend the day with, who would you choose and how would you spend the day?
Dean Koontz. What we'd do? Firstly, I'd slap him for scaring me with his dreadful books. Then we'd do lunch (he'll pay).
14. How did you find Wattpad and what do you like the most about it?
Well I'm a voracious reader of anything except my textbooks. At my high (low?) point I was reading constantly so obviously I ran out of a source, soooo I turned to the internet and voila ... I found Wattpad and seeing so many people my age and younger writing got me to thinking and then here I am a "writer". I like the fact that they are so many young and talented writers on here and I love that we can comment and receive comments and votes and all that jazz, it's cool.
15. If you could write one thing that every single person on earth would have to read, what would it be?
Um, it would be something about the idiocy of war. I am very passionate about that, it's just so completely pointless that it dumbfounds me that we as human beings at this stage in our advancement still see the need to go to war and have ulterior motives. It's just plain stupid. -_- Mini-rant over.
