Kay Brazley, Writing Center Tutor Alumni Profile

10/1/21 Interview with UIC Writing Center Tutor ‘20 alumna, Kay Brazley

• Pronouns: She/her/hers
• Graduated: May 2020 with BA in Psychology
• Took 222: S19
• Tutored: F19-S20
• Now: a 2nd year law student in the Health Law program at Case Western Reserve University School of Law

What has your experience been like so far? To what degree is it what you expected, how are you liking it, what are the challenges?

I definitely will say, second year is a lot better than the first year, academically but also–well, I don’t have the typical experience because my first year was on Zoom, the whole time pretty much [due to the pandemic]. So, it was definitely different. But now, I’m in person on campus and I like it a lot, lot more. So, I will say I think being in person makes law school better. You’re not so isolated anymore, and it’s just easier to handle everything when you’re there together. So, yeah, they say the first year [of law school] is the worst and I think I agree. Not necessarily in terms of the material but because you’re just so new to everything. So that’s why, after a year and working over the summer, that definitely helped me feel a lot better starting out second year. So I think it’s just like, you know, getting getting used to everything and definitely. practice makes perfect.

When you say that the first year of law school is notoriously the hard year,  is it more of a culture shock thing, is the sheer volume of facts you’re supposed to stuff in your head, is it socially hard?  What parts of it are hard, do you think, for new law students?

I think you’ve got to get used to the culture, because in law school, you know, they cold call. And so basically, in class, whenever they want they call on you, and you have to answer whatever questions that they have. I think that  was true for probably all my classes the first year and pretty much most of my classes second year too.  So it is something you have to get used to: you may be put on the spot any second. But the way I look at, it’s like good pressure, you know, because it’s forces me to actually do the reading and pay attention and think about these things because I don’t know if I’m gonna get called on, or asked to you know talk about this. So, yeah, that is like a thing that you have to get used to culturally with law school.

Also, I think that [in the first year[ you’re getting used to the newness of the terminology–that newness was the biggest hurdle for me it was just because I [didn’t know any lawyers and wasn’t familiar with their lingo.] Aside from places I was lucky enough to work at, I [didn’t have any prior exposure to lawyer terms].  I didn’t really know what was going on when I started out, so I think that’s the biggest thing to look out for– just not being familiar with the terminology.

It’s kind of a foreign language, almost, so much new jargon?

Definitely, yeah. But then there’s some stuff that we’re already kind of familiar with too, at least for people that went to high school in America and took Government classes. There’s a lot of that stuff that we’re talking about over and over again, Congress and presidential powers, all that–you’re already familiar with those things, so that helps.

Are there things in hindsight that you would have told yourself to do to prepare? Or, is there anything you would advise pre law students to do to help themselves gear up for law school?

So, I don’t know if all schools do this, but [Case Western] offered a “zero L” year.  In law school, you know, the first year, second year, and third year are called 1L, 2L, and 3L. So “zero L” is the summer before you start law school, a whole [prematriculation] lecture series thing about the basics of law school: criminal versus civil cases, how a bill gets passed, things like that. The basics. I would say the more you can get familiar in advance with the terms that you’re going to be using in law school, the better, because your professors are going to use those  terms and expect you to know them [off the bat]. Like, when you’re asked “what’s the holding in this case,” you have to know what that means. Before law school, I didn’t know what that meant.

I don’t know what that means now either.

Basically, it’s just like, what did the court decide. That’s the holding: what was the decision the judge made. And I didn’t know that. And so, starting out, the first couple of weeks especially, I don’t know, I felt like I was just going through the motions. Sometimes I was very lost. You get used to it. Yeah, that’s the good thing–you’re used to it and it gets easier. You know, now I don’t think about stuff like that, but that’s after having read hundreds of cases.

And you said your first year was over Zoom too, and I wonder if that meant you didn’t really have the solidarity of other students? Were you still able to meet your other first year students and kind of feel like, I’m not alone in this, we’re all confused or, or was it every totally isolated because of COVID?

So what helped us is we did have orientation in person the first week before classes start. We had that in person so I was able to meet people that way. And then I kept up with [those same people] throughout the school year. I will say, I didn’t expect this. But the good thing is I made good friends who actually can be honest with each other about how things are going with law school because the thing is, it can be tough sometimes. A lot of people can be cutthroat. You know, kind of rude and competitive. Those people exist. And so I have made friends with people where it’s not like that with us. We just are like, oh, you know, like Constitutional Law is really annoying today. So it’s not all like how you see on TV–not everyone is gunning for you, not everyone is out to get you.

Yeah, you know it’s something I’ve heard anecdotally from a couple other tutors who went on to law school that they miss the sense of community–that kind of supportive community vibe that they’d gotten used to as a tutor at the Center was hard to find. But it sounds like community is there in law school if you find the right people.

Yeah, definitely. Because I’ve noticed that at UIC undergrads, in classes we would share resources with each other–books, class notes, things like that. It’s not always the same in law school. You have to sometimes find extra resources on your own. But also, I don’t know about other law schools, but at my own, we had a peer mentor program. So I was able get help from my peer mentor. She was a 2L when I was a 1L. We met every other week and she was basically giving me advice. She gave me course outlines case briefs, things like that, and all those notes helped me for my final exams. So, there is a community, if you find it.

That’s a really good tip that people could look to see if there is some sort of Peer Mentor Program, and take advantage of any prematriculation program before the school year starts, both to meet like-minded people, but also to get that leg-up on the huge volume of new terms they’re going to face.

Yeah, I would definitely say whatever they can do before classes actually kick in, the better. Just because there is a LOT of reading–and starting out, because you’re not used to [the vocabulary], it seems like even more. And so whatever you can do to help you start out on the best foot and not get behind, the better.

Is there anything you’re finding is your favorite thing about your studies? How are you liking the health law emphasis–is that what you hoped it would be?

Yeah, I still really enjoy health law; I’m taking a Health Law class this semester. So, let me say, first year, you are taking all “doctrinal” classes so I didn’t pick any of my classes first year. So the “doctrinal” classes are things like criminal law, contracts, torts, property law. All those basic ones. And then, second and third year you get to actually pick the classes you want to take. There are still, you know, some general requirements but besides that, you have electives. This semester I’m taking Health Law and I’m also taking a Psychiatry and Law class. So those are really interesting to me.  I haven’t gotten super far into health law yet. But they do offer a clinic, so when I’m a 3L, in my third year, I’ll actually be able to work with clients, which is very interesting to me, that you can get practical experience before you even graduate. I’m pretty sure a lot of schools do that. I know at UIC John Marshall Law School they have those too. They’re all really good things I would say, for people to get involved with–it’s worth doing your research into whatever [hands-on] programs the schools [you’re applying to offer]. I’m less involved with social club activities [compared to] when I was an undergrad. I’m not doing any of that now just because I  am mostly focused on school. It can be a lot.

Did you say the first year was “doctrinal” classes–was that the word? Okay, I see what you mean about about the lingo!

Yeah, so the “doctrinal” classes are the typical classes every law student has to take; those are also the classes that are going to be on the Bar. Because, another thing is that after you graduate, you have to take this massive exam over three days. All those classes that you take in your first year and your second year too? A lot of them are going to be on that.

Does the third year always have a hands-on internship component where you work directly with clients? Do they call it a residency–or how did they talk about that?

Right. So, earlier, I mentioned a class that I know I’m going to be able to do as a clinic in my third year. That’s where the 3Ls can work with clients. I think it’s usually a semester or possibly a year long. I’m not as familiar with [the duration]–I heard a lot of people say, as 3Ls, especially second semester, you’re not really doing much for school, just mostly focused on prepping for the bar and also work.

Because there are a lot of programs too for work opportunities. For example, I worked at a law firm this summer that I got through a Minority Clerkship program. So that’s specifically one program, but I’m sure in Chicago and every other place they have [work] programs available to law students, depending on their year. And it gives you a leg up, especially if you can get in through a program [like I did] because that was a really good law firm. And I didn’t have to go through necessarily the same process that a regular applicant would have to go through.

Is it paid, the clerkship?

Kay: Yes!

That’s really great. So you’re getting paid to have a firsthand sneak preview of practicing law. What kind of stuff did they have you do–what was your day-to-day like at the firm?

So basically all law school is reading and writing. So, [in the clerkship at the firm], I did a lot of research and writing about what I found. That was basically what I did. I was able to work on stuff related to pro bono cases. One [case] related to like a bankruptcy issue. Another one was about who would have custody over this kid. I also worked for speed traffic camera [cases], researching what regulations are in place already. So basically it’s a lot of like looking into stuff for people and saying, Is there an answer to this question, can we do what we want to do? If not, you know, okay, what can we do next.

You’re almost like a research assistant for these cases, is that true?

Yeah, that’s really it. So my title title actually was a “law clerk.” So that is usually the kind of position that law students are looking for. Some people clerk for law firms like I did; some people clerk for judges. I had some  friends who did that. And they’re all really great opportunities, and even though it may seem scary, those are the best ones, because [my clerkship] definitely helped me solidify my skills and make sure I was on the right track. Especially going into my second year. Because although I know I was a writing tutor and everything I was still not very sure about my writing, especially  legal writing because it is different. It’s a whole other thing to learn, really.

Another question I always ask people is, to what extent do you feel your work as a tutor prepared you or transferred to your work as a law student?  Were there any skills you transferred from being a tutor to what you’re doing now? Was there anything [about being a tutor] that helped kind of prepare? Does any of that apply?

I would say for sure, actually, because you have to be able to think about a lot of different kinds of situations. Sometimes we have cases that may involve random health issues I may know nothing about. And then the next day you may have a case that’s about construction–something, again, I know nothing about. But you have to be able to think about a lot of these things kind of on the fly. I saw that with a lot of the students I helped [at the Writing Center]  because I didn’t know what their project was or where they were coming from. I had never taken their class. But you have to be able to think through things with people and help them in whatever way you can. And that’s kind of what you do in law school, I would say. It’s really moreso helping yourself learn and figure out a [new type of case]. But I guess being comfortable with being uncomfortable and with the unfamiliar–that’s kind of what you have to do. I think that has translated from being a tutor, and being able to talk to people too. Because in my [law school] writing classes–you have to take a writing class for your first year and then there’s a second year course you can take either your first or second semester. So I’m in it right now. And in the writing classes you do simulations. And basically there is a simulation of an actual thing that you do in your regular practice for real. So, for instance, like a discovery dispute, which is what I’m doing now. Last year we did a [simulation of] a negotiation and a settlement conference, things like that. Or client interviews. So you have to talk to people and maybe communicate about a difficult topic. For instance, if you have to question someone about their mental health history. That can be a difficult topic for people to talk about. So you have to understand how to approach that and how to communicate with people effectively. I think tutoring helps. I met so many people at UIC. There’s so many different kinds of people, people from other countries and everything and so many languages, it was just really great. So that definitely translates.

That’s really interesting to hear.  I can see that. There’s a way in which, even though writers aren’t your clients, it’s still the sense of. .  you don’t know at any given hour what’s going to be thrown at you. It’s rare that you go into a session knowing anything about the topic beforehand and you’ve never met that person. So you’re like: brand-new person, you have to form rapport and figure out how to talk to them, they may not even share the same language background. And a whole new topic, potentially, probably. And somehow you have to get up to speed really fast but also be comfortable really fast and it seems like those two skills are pretty useful.

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

I know that when you were moving out you have close family You’re really close with your mom, right? How’s it been being in a new city away from family? Have you found ways to help yourself through that transition or help her through that transition?

Yeah, we are. So I’ve gone home. It was, yeah, it was harder for her at first, but I think she kind of got used to it, especially since I go home for all the major holidays. Like, I went home for Thanksgiving last year and then I stayed home for a month for winter break. We got like six weeks, it was really big break. But that was because of COVID, they changed the schedule. So, yeah, she’s been okay. We also talk every day, so, that helps. And she knows why I’m here and the whole reason is so I can get good education and hopefully get a job one day.  Yeah, she’s okay.

Really–so okay, I moved here end of July last year. And then I was actually like really homesick for two months. So that’s why I ended up getting Selina, my cat–I needed a buddy! And my mom, she came to visit me, because she was struggling too. This was September. I’d been gone for a month  and she was like, I need to see you!. But anyway, I didn’t tell my mom, but I got a cat before she came to visit, and my mom’s really afraid of animals.. And she was really afraid of my sweet little senior cat who just wants love! It was really fun.

Was it like exposure therapy? Did she get over her fear and come to love Selina?

Actually–yeah! That’s exactly it. Now she loves her, she can’t wait to see her. She loves like when I bring her home with me. Yeah, both my parents, they really love my little kitty.

I feel like that was really smart of you to know: “I’m homesick, it’s gonna be lonely here, kind of a cutthroat scene–I’m getting a cat.” That seems like really good advice for other people to bear in mind too, and I wondered along those lines . . .Are there any things you feel like you were able to do for yourself just to help you mentally cope with all the newness and culture shock of the place? You got a cat; was there anything else that helped you stay a little sane through that first year?

I just made sure. . .  like, “I know law school is gonna be a pain, but I want to make sure everything else that I can control is the way that I want it.” So that was my apartment. I got it set up a way that I wanted. I have a TV, a computer, it’s great (laughs). I’m living the life. Yeah, but I think, [it’s important] if you can be really comfortable in your own space, because it’s kind of like your sanctuary.  Especially after you may have a really hard day at school, you know you need something of your own that you can fee comfortable with and happy with. I don’t live with my family but I have heard from other law students who do that it is more difficult to do law school if you’re living at home. You know, it depends on your family, but sometimes, I have heard from some people, it can be hard.

I’ve heard that even in undergrad. Not that people have a choice, but yeah, at home, people may be expected to help with family, and you’re like, I gotta study for this exam. And I think you mentioned with COVID that first year, it was particularly tough because maybe you couldn’t go study in the library. You had to do all your studying at home.

Yeah, I was here a lot. That’s why I wanted to make sure it was the way I wanted it, as much as I could control that.

I was going to ask you a question about faculty. How accessible are they? Do any of them step up in the role of mentors? Or do they have any programs? You said there was peer mentoring. I didn’t know if there was any faculty member mentoring as well?

It’s probably more on an individualized basis, that you have to seek out more. But I would say my professors have been like: if you have any questions, if you need anything, talk to me–you know, they’ve been pretty good about that. And they’re also willing to meet with their students. Lik, I’ve had professors [offer to meet] on the weekend, or say, you know, if have questions, just text me. I’m like, Oh, okay? We’re at that level? So, yeah, it’s really nice. I think professors also notice if you do speak up in classes and if you make an effort. I think that helps.

You were saying that they do the cold calling thing. So it seems like your participation in class is really noticed. It’s important. Is it a small class typically,  like under 25? Or are these big classes?

It can be 50 or so. Some of them are some are smaller. My Health Law class is, I think, 25 people or so. That’s why it’s even more pressure to make sure you know you’re talking about because if you mess up in front of 60 people, it can be nerve racking.  But also there’s no harm in like saying, “I don’t know,” or “I didn’t read this.” You may feel embarrassed at the moment, but it’s okay. Your professor is not going remember that and penalize you. Because like they’re human too. Usually.

This is just a dumb question, because I don’t know much about law school. But, after law school, you take your exam, and then at that point, do you just go into into practice? Or are there any other transitional things like residency after med school?

So yeah, for law school, it’s three years, and then you take the Bar exam, and then that’s it. You’re licensed to practice.

So there’s no specializing, like, you know, after you do general med school, you specialize in dermatology, you do a residency . . .there’s no specializing where you are still in training period?

No, the specializing is once you start working, you get focused on whatever area you’re trying to get into, and then you develop the skills. The thing is, law school doesn’t always teach you how to be a lawyer. It teaches you law, and, how to apply it, but it doesn’t teach you necessarily the day-to–day practical skills. And so that’s what  law firms do for new grad straight out of law school: they’ll train you and teach you.

So you get on-the-job training on the technical stuff. I feel like I’ve seen that on TV shows. Do you have a vision for yourself of what kind of clerkship you’d want to do next summer? Or what kind of setting you want to practice lawn? Or is that just sort of a horrible question, because it’s far too soon to ask that?

I really would like to go back to the place that I worked at this summer. I worked at McDonald Hopkins, the law firm here in Cleveland. Actually, they have a few offices; they have one in Chicago, too. But I would really like to go back there. I liked that law firm environment. And I liked the kind of work that I was able to do, It can be fast-paced at times.  But there were also times when I was begging for work,  so, you know, it varies. I really liked the people there and I like stuff that they were doing, so that’s why. I’d really like to go back there. I would like to work there permanently, if I could.

Yeah. Did they deal in certain kinds of law, like health law?

They do everything. They’re primarily business based. So they represent minor and major corporations, but they also do pro bono work too. It’s not all pro bono cases, because obviously they have to make money, but the fact that they have that option, I like that.

I’d like go back there; I haven’t really looked into job stuff other than that. And you know I didn’t even apply to that [firm]. Some people will put their anxieties and expectations on you, and make you feel bad about not doing something when they’re doing it. So some people are talking about applying for jobs for next summer, right now; they’re doing interviews. I’m like, “We just got back to school.” But don’t worry about that, because you know, they need to do what’s best for them. And so, I’d say: sometimes ignore people. Especially like law students, they can be annoying sometimes. They can be annoying, they can be judgy, they can be aggressive, unnecessarily so.  You just have to know how to deal with that. I find it best to just ignore most of the time. or, kill them with kindness.”

What do you think feeds that? It it something about about law school that encourages that kind of aggressiveness? Is it because they’re going to be going into court where they’re encouraged to be super aggressive? What do you think promotes that?

A sense of entitlement. Not everyone starts out on the same foot. Some people have had lawyers in their families for generations. And so they’re already familiar with all this stuff and know what’s going on. And so they may be like, Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do that? Like, Oh, yeah, I’m clerking for this judge, blah blah blah. And if you have no idea about that, they’ll try to make you feel bad. I see. You know, you just have to, shut it down.

Yeah, that is, that is super annoying. I’m with you on that. It also sounds like, there’s going to be a contingency of people who are there just because I got the mommy or the daddy who did it. And they’ve got like that sort of maybe some nepotistic kind of connections and can just get a clerkship because they know that their parents will call someone. But they act as if somehow it’s on  their own merit, when it actually just got handed to them.

And that’s the case.  I would say, a good amount of people who are in law school  fall into that category. But there’s also the ones that are here to help other people you know, actually want to be what’s right.

Do anything to acknowledge that there’s people who are like first generation law school people like where it’s you’re not just here because you’re riding the coattails of a family business, but like–do they do anything to support people who are like the first ones in their family?

I have not seen that, and I have not heard about that. I would like to. That sounds like a great idea. Because this is not easy and  I think it’s a pretty big achievement. Especially for like some people, like their parents are immigrants and now they’re in law school? I think that’s amazing. So yeah, we should have acknowledge that. But I haven’t come across anything like that. I would say I think it is something that is like fostered in law school. They want to kind of encourage the cut-throatness sometimes and competitiveness. For instance, like they send out to everyone, like who made the Dean’s list, as a mass email to everybody. I’m like, I don’t know if that’s something that we should maybe be doing? You can notify the individual students, sire. But not everybody, so you know, who’s like at the top and who’s not. That’s not I don’t think a good thing to do. It’s like you’re trying to hate each other.

That seems really not the way to go about promoting a good sense of community support for each other. Right? That’s a shame, I have to say. I’m sorry. I’m sorry to hear that they, I mean, I would hope that they really recognize and value that some people have worked really hard to get here. And that’s, that’s something to celebrate. And to, like, affirm and not. I don’t know, I wish I wish they had some extra support in place for that. Was the Peer Mentor Program, just something they do for everybody? It wasn’t specifically for first generation law students or anything like that?

It wasn’t specifically for first generation students, but it was through the Black Law Student Association, BLSA. There’s not even that many; I think there was, like, 9 Black students in my year. So it makes it easier for us to get support sometimes, because of that, I guess. But so especially like, if you belong to a minority group, you may have more resources sometimes because they’re so few people who also belong to that group, if that makes sense.

How big is your is your incoming class? When you say there’s nine black students– out of how many roughly?

I think it’s 120 of us, roughly.

Wow, okay.

And it’s even fewer–I  know, there’s three Hispanic kids in our whole grade. Yeah, the legal field still has strides to make in promoting diversity.  I will say, though, I think there may be even more women than there are men. I think that may be a change in more recent years. So that’s good–progress.

Is there any representation on the faculty of people of color? Or how are we doing there?

I know two Black professors in law School. There’s two of them. And I think there’s one Asian professor, I don’t know about any Hispanic or otherwise. Yeah.

Out of bigger size faculty?

Right, right, exactly. It’s a pretty good amount of people.

Do you get the sense that this isn’t just Case Western,  but this is just typical of law school generally?

Yeah. It’s law school and the whole legal field in general, because even when I worked for a law firm, they were also not very many people of color and not a ton of women really, either. Especially at the executive level. That’s still a problem, I think. I think it’s that way in a lot of professional fields too, because my friend, she’s in medical school at UIC. And, you know, she experiences the same things. Like she I think she’s only Black girl–there’s two others in her class. And I was like, Wow. It’s just. . .yeah. I think it’s a lot of these fields–especially the ones where you have to go to school for a while. .  . those kind of fields are still pretty non-diverse.

I remember when you were studying for the LSAT, you were also doing research for Dr. Bette Bottoms, is that right? For people who are thinking about how do I even get into law school–are there any of those things, in hindsight, that you think. “I think that helped my application.” I don’t even know if you get feedback when you get admitted where they say, “We really like that you did this and this,” but do you have any sense of what helps people in their application to law school? Maybe it’s totally inscrutable; maybe just get the yes and then you’re like, I guess they like the global whole package, and there’s no feedback?

There is no feedback. And now I’m like, why isn’t there any feedback? Because I would like to know what they’re looking for! You know? I don’t know. I don’t even know why I got in the law firm, either. I don’t know what.

Not a lot of transparency in the admissions process, I suppose for any of these things, but it would I think it just would be nice for people coming in to know what do they value and what is worth my time if I’m trying to run around and do a million different kinds of internships or volunteer experiences or research fellowship, whatever, like what do they care about? You know.

Actually, I will say, thinking back on this summer [at the law firm], a lot of people did comment on the fact that I did have legal experience; I worked at the Attorney’s Office in Cook County and that was on my resume, so people like did ask me about that. People actually also asked me about the research that I did as an undergrad, because it was in Psych and Law, so that was still relevant. And I think anything that shows that you’re really good at writing especially–anything like that, I think helps.  I think those are things that they look for most. Those are things that I would say have been at least talked about to me.

Do you think being a writing tutor doesn’t hurt then? Did they ever acknowledge that you worked as a writing tutor and maybe that shows that you have some skills?

Yeah, actually. When I was being introduced at the law firm, we had a meeting, and my boss. She introduced me as a prolific writer because of my resume–because saw that I was a writing tutor.

Do they offer writing tutors for law students who need help with writing?

They do, actually! There is tutoring still, not just for my writing class but also for all your classes. They have a tutoring center here. So yeah, I used them last year. My writing tutor, her name was Carly, I worked with her all the time.

Is it peer-based, the ways that UIC is  or is it faculty who are doing it?

Yeah, no, it’s peer. So once you’re 2L, you can apply to be a tutor, I believe. It’s usually 2 or 3Ls or are the tutors.

Is it specifically tutoring for law school, or does it serve all the undergrads at Case Western?

Just law school. Yeah, so they have their own tutors specifically for law school. And they even break it up by specific classes, and even further for what professor you have. So they have you use a specific tutor for the professor in this contract class. And I’m pretty sure they usually do it based off like if that person had that Professor, too. So like that tutor has that firsthand experience with professor’s exams and how they teach, and all that.

Is that something that appeals to you? Are you are you interested to be a tutor again? Or do you feel like, I have enough on my plate?

I just don’t feel like I could help people? Like I should not be teaching somebody else because I feel I still need to understand it myself. So I did no feel comfortable. Yet. Maybe next year.

Yeah, that’d be a third year kind of thing to consider when to you once you’ve gotten some of these classes under your belt too.  Well, thank you, Kay, I usually just ask: Are there any things that you’re doing just for fun these days that are bringing you joy or relief from school? Maybe have don’t even have time for hobbies. But I know you think he said the cat was kind of important. And is there anything else where you’re like, Oh, I just like doing something with my hands or I like doing some form of you know, activity or whatever it is that just brings you relief.

I like to play video games. I have the interests of a 13 year-old boy. I love video games and like watching superhero stuff. So that’s really what I do. I watch a lot of cartoons. And then I also play a lot video games, especially Fortnite is my favorite.

Do you play with other law students, or who do you play with?

I play with my boyfriend, I made him start playing, actually. We play together now, a lot. My other friends who’s in med school–she plays too! Everybody anywhere can play. I encourage everyone. And it’s free.

It’s social, it’s free. It really does sound like you’re a bit of a pusher. You’re really, really trying to seduce people into the world of Fortnite here. I like it.

I am, I am.

Are you really good?

Oh yeah. I would like to say I am. I am pretty good. You get to kill people. It’s so fun! You get out all your aggression.

What about favorite superhero cartoons?

Batman. I mean, always Batman. Anything related to Batman. He is my favorite.

Do the darker graphic novel stuff too, or just the movies?

Everything. I love everything. I named my cat after Catwoman, Selina Kyle?

Okay! I didn’t know the reference!

Everything, especially, like, they’re coming out with more and more the rated R versions of the cartoon movies? Those are pretty good too. They have Justice League ones? I like that. Yeah. Anyway.

Is there anything I haven’t asked about you feel like I should ask about that would be helpful for people to know or thinking about going going down this path?

You’re going get a lot of feedback. Don’t take it to heart. You know, they’re usually just trying to make you better. It can be a lot to get used to and deal with, but honestly, I think anyone can do it. You have to work at it, but it’s possible and I think it’s pretty rewarding. I encourage everyone to do it.