What’s your name and grade? I‘m Noah Tayone, and I’m a senior.
What is your biggest pet peeve in life? My biggest pet peeve, I’d say, is when people chew with their mouths open. And, especially when I see people that are already seniors or just older who have done this—with gum, with any kind of food. I don’t understand it. It’s disgusting as hell.
What’s your favorite type of food and why? Well, you’ve got to go back to cultural origins. Being Filipino, of course, I’ve always been surrounded by this whole Filipino culture, and there are often a lot of family events and gatherings and a lot of different foods at them. And, while I do love the staples, I feel like there are a lot of other underrated foods. One of the foods that I most enjoy is paksiw. It’s kind of oily; I forgot if it’s beef or pork, but it’s some kind of meat, and it’s really greasy. And, when it’s paired with rice, I enjoy it so much. But then there’s also the universal that everyone loves: lumpia (egg rolls). So, that’s about it.
When do you feel the most alive, and why? One of the things during which I feel the most alive—well, it doesn’t specifically only apply to when I was in the Philippines, but still—is definitely ziplining, because it’s such a non-restrictive thing. Well, okay, I guess you have a harness, but still you’re free to do whatever, you’re free to move, and, I just really enjoy that feeling of wind breezing across your face, and being able to look over everything, and see how it’s just you, the wind and then everything else is below you.
What are you most grateful for in life? Just for being here, I think. It’s one of the biggest privileges that my parents gave me, and I really appreciate it, honestly.
What was your favorite game as a kid? Favorite game as a kid… whooo! Alright, so I guess you could say this is more of a game console, but the Wii—not the Wii U, just the Wii. It brings back so many core memories… But in terms of, more specifically, a game, I’d say Wii Sport and Wii Sports Resort. Wii Sports Resort was amazing, but Wii Sports was also really good; I love them both. I still have my Wii, but actually it’s all the way in the Philippines, so I can’t play on it. I’m actually thinking of getting a new one, because it’s so nostalgic, and unironically, you actually do start sweating on it.
Are you more of an extrovert or an introvert, and why? I think it depends, because before, I used to be really introverted, especially coming into freshman year. Obviously, when you first meet people, of course, you’re going to be scared to open up. But me, I just didn’t even want to talk, I was really scared to even go up to people at all. I’d rather let people come to me. But then, going into sophomore, junior, and senior years, especially since I got a job, I started to understand—you’ve got to go up to people and you’ve got to talk. That’s the only way to progress. You can’t just let people come to you; you need to go for it yourself.
If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or deceased, who would it be, and why? I’d say Harry Houdini. I don’t know; something about him is just really interesting to me. Back in middle school and elementary, I was so fascinated by his tricks. I loved reading about it all. It’s just always interested me, the concept of illusion.
What’s something unique or unusual that you enjoy doing? I guess that I tend to spend a lot of money on stationery stuff from time to time, especially when I’m in a different country. Ever since I was eight, I’ve always traveled a lot, and whenever I go, I’ll always get some stationery goods. Like, on my way to the Philippines, I’ve sometimes stopped in Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and while I was there, I would always look around for stationery, because it really interests me. For example, on a layover in Japan, I got a bunch of school supplies from there, because, I mean it’s a hell of a lot cheaper, but also just their quality, and the way they make their stationary goods, it’s really high-quality compared to America.
What is your biggest regret in life? It’s definitely that during freshman and sophomore year, my GPA got absolutely cooked because I was super lazy. I had zero work ethic, and it was really bad, and honestly, now, I regret that a lot, because I’m applying to college and things. But, I now look forward to maintaining my new consistent work ethic, especially in college. So, I guess I just regret not doing that during my first two years in high school, too.
What nicknames do you have, and where do they come from? Okay, so I’ll tell you about the nickname that my dad gave me. Well, actually, there are two different ones. There’s one that’s basic because a lot of Filipinos use it. Well, Anak is the common version of it, but my dad sometimes calls me Nak Nak. And then he also called me Noah-ki; I don’t know how he got that, but yeah. I guess also some people like Tristan Tran over here like calling me by username on Roblox and on other games: Noaher. I also have that on the back of my varsity volleyball jersey; it’s from last year. High-key, I haven’t worn it in a while.
What is your favorite ice cream topping? Oooh, I love Reese’s; I love peanut butter. Peanut Butter is so nice, until you have to crap it out, because that stuff is hard to get out of your body, but honestly, yeah—Reese’s, I just love it so much. I love the taste of peanut butter and then the mix with chocolate. It’s so smooth, fresh, and creamy.
Who is one person whom you want to shout-out, and why? I’d like to give a shout-out to Mr. Mody—such a goat. I know you skipped his tests. You were “absent.” But, honestly, Mr. Mody; had him my junior year for AP Physics 1, and he really shifted my perspective on the teachers in general. And, even though it was his first year here because he used to work at Taft, I think, he still was able to connect really well with students, and he makes the class really enjoyable. He understands it; he understands us. He is able to connect with you on a personal level, and that’s a really cool thing, honestly.
What is your favorite dessert, and why? I think I’ll go with leche flan. Honestly, it’s kind of hard to find good leche flan, even if you go to, like, Seafood City, it’s alright. But, my stepdad makes this leche flan that’s so good. It’s so rich, so creamy, and also, I don’t even know what sauce he uses, it’s some syrup, but it’s just so good.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? Well, the thing about advice is that it’s always interpretive; it’s never like you can get from it the same message as everyone else, because nobody is going to think of it in the same way—everyone always comes with their own different experiences, different perspectives, different backgrounds. But, for me, one of the best pieces of advice that I’ve interpreted is: Everything you do is up to you. While it sounds basic, I still tell a lot of other people, like my girlfriend, that you really just need to go and do what you need to do. And, I get that maybe you’re comfortable and your bed is hugging you so tightly, especially in the mornings when you’ve got school and you were up studying late last night. I get that, but really it’s all about your own will and your mental power to get up and just do it. Yes, it may seem hard, but it’s the only way to get anything meaningful done. It’s as simple as that.
Do you believe in aliens, and why or why not? I mean, yeah. They’ve got to be out there somewhere, you know. And, I don’t think they’re close or anything like that. I mean, I used to be really into astrology and I’d always go to the Skokie Public Library and get books about it and research it. And so, I remember reading that the chances of there being aliens in our galaxy, the Milky Way, are really minuscule. But, I still think there are definitely some in other places of space. We’re 100% not the only beings.
Is there something else that you want to tell readers that I didn’t mention? No; I think we pretty much talked about everything.
