What’s your name and grade? My name is Gabe Fajardo and I’m a sophomore.
If you could live in any place in the world where would it be, and why? If I were to live in any place, I would probably live in the Philippines, mainly due to the fact that I really want to connect back to my roots. I want to meet my family because I’ve heard a lot of stories about my family and I really want to connect back with them. I really haven’t met many parts of my family, and I want to be able to experience my culture from where it truly began.
What’s your favorite food? My favorite food is rice, just because it can go with anything. I grew up eating a lot of rice because my parents are from the Philippines.
What’s your greatest accomplishment? My biggest accomplishment is teaching my sister the things I love to do, because I got to [see] my sister grow up and I saw her go through her different stages of life. I got to teach my sister karate, and we got to go on different trips together and compete nationally together. I love the fact that, you know, I see a lot of myself in her.
What’s your biggest purpose in life? My biggest purpose in life is to teach others the knowledge that I have because I don’t want to die without sharing what I have to tell others. I feel like everyone goes up with different experiences and not everyone’s going to experience the same things as others [will]. And so, what I want to do in my life is to teach others about the things that I’ve gone through and the things I’ve learned in my life, so that others will not experience the struggles I went through and they’ll succeed in the ways I did not.
What was your favorite game as a kid? My favorite game as a kid was to 2K, because I was a really competitive guy and I love basketball. It’s one of my favorite hobbies, [but] I don’t like to do it competitively.
What’s your favorite conspiracy theory? My favorite conspiracy theory is that there is very intelligent life on different planets. This is my favorite conspiracy theory because it really makes me think about how they have interacted with us, and that we could have access to many more resources that could benefit our planet, and benefit us, and improve us as human beings.
What are the most important qualities in a friend? I feel like the most important qualities in a friend are loyalty and trust, because that’s what makes a true friendship. Because, you know, that’s what helps me to open up to a friend [and], you know, talk to them. Sometimes it’s not about the gifts that you give each other, but it’s more about the moments that you share and the things that you tell each other.
If you could jump into a pool of anything, what would it be full of? That’s a good one. I would jump in a pool full of jello, just so I can swim in it, and, like, eat at the same time. You know what I mean?
What is the worst song in your opinion? Like, the worst song ever? Oh my god. I feel like the song I hate the most is “Dance Monkey.” [It] just irritates me so much. I hate it. I hate the beat, I hate the lyrics; [there’s] no purpose in it.
If money was no object, what would be the first thing you’d buy? Oh, that’s a good one. I’d buy a new house so that me and my sister wouldn’t have to share a room anymore.
What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet? One thing that I want to do, but I haven’t done yet, is skydiving. I really want to see the world from above and I really want to feel like I’m falling.
If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or deceased, who would it be? I’d love to meet Kobe Bryant. He has inspired me not just because of his game, but [also] because of how his mentality [has] affected him on the court. You know, I really looked up to him and how his work ethic really drove him to be better each and every day, and I [would] want to talk to him about how he was able to have this consistent mentality every day and how he was able to better himself without, you know, focusing on the stresses around him.
What is your favorite hobby and why? My favorite hobby is gaming because I’m able to play with my friends and I don’t have to focus on what makes me worry or what makes me anxious, and I just get to have fun and do what I love.
What motivates you to work hard? I feel like my parents motivate me to work hard because I know for a fact that they came here to the US—they’re immigrants—and that they came here to give me a better life and, you know, every time I don’t feel like working as hard or I feel like giving not giving it my all, I always remember that they put me here to live a better life. I always push myself past the limit, because I know they wouldn’t want me to settle for anything average.
What would your dream house look like? There’d be a bedroom for every single person in the house. We’d each have our own bathroom. We’d all have really big closets because we have a bunch of clothes in our house right now. And I’d really like a pool because I don’t like swimming, I just like staying in water. That’s another hobby that people don’t know about me.
Is there something else that you want to tell readers that I didn’t mention? You’re only gonna live for so long. You’re gonna die eventually. So, I wouldn’t really focus on the temporary struggles that you have right now. I would just [say] to do what you want. And just to live however you want because you know, you don’t have all the time to focus all of your time studying and getting good grades. Make your parents happy. Trying to get into a good college, but sometimes it’s better to just, you know, push all that aside for a little bit and just do what you want.
