Golden Interviews

Interview #3: @lmaojahnavi

Author: lmaojahnavi

Interviewer: Lil-Bird

Q. In the story, what does Ondrejka's character represent?

A. Ondrejka's character inspired actually came to be because of this particular joke. Many of us joke about dropping out of university and becoming a stripper because it pays awfully well and there are no educational requirements. So I toyed with the idea of highlighting a main character who was a stripper not because she was done with school, but because she had no other choice to. In simpler times, I want Ondrejka's character to represent everything I stand for — feminism, and that it's okay for a person to turn to jobs that are considered taboo and have a lot of stigma around them. I want Ondrejka to represent a strong female in today's world.

Q. What scenario have you been in that made you feel like it's going to be a long day?

A. Oh, many haha. Most of these scenarios have to do with college-related work and assignments. During the end of a semester, things get so hectic with assignments, oral exams, practicals and stuff that I have to stay put in college for more than 12 hours at times. It's exhausting. But there's some other instances as well. Like for example, I had to attend a wedding in the city, a few hours and the prospect of being such an all-smiles person for so long had me mentally exhausted already!

Q. In the story, Ondrejka is a college student who is also working in a night club as a stripper. What do you think of people who are also like Ondrejka?

A. They're such brave people. It takes a lot of courage and strength to strip publicly, come home mad late and wake up early in the morning because you can't miss out on your classes. I have so much respect for people doing such jobs. I have seen so many people — even online — criticize women who do only fans or strip or something along those lines and it baffles me. These women are putting themselves out there to make a living. They're doing everything they can do to make a comfortable life and who are we to judge them? Our lives are so short and if we take half the time we spend judging others and criticizing others for their decisions and invest that time to make ourselves happy, we'd be very content with ourselves.

Q. What memory in your primary days do you still remember up until now?

A. I remember all of it, frankly. But the one that really stands out is when I was in the 2nd grade. It was a local, inter-school dance competition. My school had decided to do this global positivity thingy. They assigned a pretend-couple for most countries. I was awfully tall and so I had to be a boy and my partner and I represented China. It was so much fun, the late practices, getting to skip classes and just the whole experience in itself. I still remember the dance routine and even do it in my room sometimes!

Q. Are you a party girl or are you the type of girl who prefers staying at home and chillax?

A. I'm definitely someone who prefers staying home and chilling. I have a large pile of eternally-unread books yearning for me, some mind-blowing series to finish and some mediocre-writing to do haha. Also, I am not fond of being around people for too long. It may be my deeply-seeded anxiety and discomfort at the thought of being around people, partying, for hours at a stretch, but I can never find myself willingly go to a party. It helps that I have so many hobbies and stuff to do, so I manage to weasel my way out of attending most times haha!

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