Interviewing Alishan, I thought to myself “I wonder how this is going to go”. While conducting the interview I would ask closed questions as well as questions that would make the readers, the interviewee, and myself think long and hard about. At first I asked, “Where are you from?” to which Alishan, who actually likes to go by Ali, responded, Queens, NY. I don’t know Queens as well as I know Manhattan but I do know how interesting Queens could be since I go to Queens Center Mall a lot. Compared to where I live, Ali lives very far from transportation. I then asked Ali, “Do you have any personal hobbies or interests?”. He stares blankly at me and then I start to see his gears turn and he says “I am interested in cars and my personal hobbies include playing video games and basketball”. By the look on his face I knew he was really passionate about playing basketball and video games. What really interested me was his answer to “what’s your favorite color?”. His favorite color was matte purple or lighter than forest green. What’s odd about that you may ask? Other males I know, their favorite color is either basic black or neutral color/shade. Nope, Ali’s was matte purple and lighter than forest green. The curiosity in my face was apparent and he laughed then asked, “what’s with your face” and I told him “no boy I know has ever said their favorite color so specifically before” it shocked me. Moving forward with the interview, I asked “what’s the meaning of life?”, he responded with “finding your purpose”.
At first I was like “that’s it?” but he said he didn’t know how to explain it but all he said was “finding your purpose”. I feel like that is such an open answer to a question that could mean a lot in the future as well as now. No one truly knows the meaning of life and everyone’s answer will be different. As you, the reader, the person from the outside looking in, what do you think Ali meant? I proceeded on with the interview and asked “what motivates you?” and he said “my parents because I want to do good for them. They really work hard and I would hate to let them down”. I thought that was very thoughtful and relatable because everybody wants to make their parents happy and want their parents to be proud of them.
In this case, his biggest fear was not living life to the fullest. His emotions changed completely and I saw the look of excitement mixed with boldness. I told him to describe himself and he told me he was laid back, caring, hardworking, social, but yet still introverted, as well as he would say “a handsome man”. You can see his ego radiating as soon as he said it and it was hilarious. I asked what his two top favorite memories were, to which he responded “going home to Pakistan and going jet skiing”. His word choice of “going home” made me feel like he’s a family orientated person. Most people would say “my family’s country” but you could tell he loves Pakistan and enjoys being “home”; where he’s comfortable. I was up to my last two questions and thought to myself “what was the best way for him to open up?”. My last two questions had to be deep and studious. My first question of the two was “where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years”, he responded “more independent but still close to my family and kick starting a business”. That goes back to what I was saying about being family oriented.
Being family oriented was his subculture. Some characteristics include, caring, loyal, and respectful. Back to when I asked Ali how would he describe himself and one of the words he used was caring. The way he speaks of his parents and his home with such passion and emotion places him in the right subculture. He will always have a special place for his family, it was present in his tone of voice and was present through his face. His motivation, his favorite memory, and even in his future; everything revolves around his family even if he is not present physically, he desires to have his close connection with his family.
Lastly, he responded to the second question which was “what would you change about yourself?” with “I would change how bad I overthink”. I could see him get serious and worried. Most people tend to overthink to the point where they believe their own thoughts and get upset about it; meanwhile, it was just in their head. It has to do with being let down in the past for having built up trust issues. We can relate to one another in this aspect and I feel like others can too; most can put themselves in his shoes. Analyzing his face, as well as change in body language I can tell he has been let down in a lot of friendships or relationships. In the beginning he was very cocky and arrogant then when we started getting into the more far-reaching questions he started to get more somber and humorless. In closing, interviewing Ali was a very intriguing and interesting experience.
Interview Questions
- Where are you from?
- Personal hobbies
- What is the meaning of life
- Fav color
- What motivates you
- Biggest fear
- Describe yourself
- Favorite top 2 memories
- Where do you see yourself
- What would you change about yourself
