Several months ago eighth grader Joseph Ginsburg approached me with an idea for The Trinity Voice. He said, “You know what would be great? If you just interviewed a random student. Kids would want to read that.” I immediately wished I had thought of the idea.
In what will now be a monthly installment, you will meet randomly chosen students from different grades. The questions will not be the same each issue because not every student is the same.
I thought Ginsburg would be good for this first edition because it was his idea, and most people at Trinity Prep only know him as “the bowling kid.” I knew there was a lot more to him than his affinity for ten-pin and slushies. Our conversation ranged from friendship and love to private schools and philosophy.
Full Name: Joseph Thomas Ginsburg
Age: 13
Favorite color: Sapphire Blue
Favorite movie: Billy Madison
Years at TPS: 2
What makes you average?
Nobody is really average when you think about it. I may have many other things in common with people. For example, I go to Trinity. I participate in a sports team (whether or not it’s a sports team is another debate.) I do extra-curricular activities (again, whether or not it’s an extra-curricular activity is another debate.) Nobody here is really an “average Joe.”
What makes you not-so-average?
I am more popular in every other grade except for eighth grade. It’s true. I have a class that’s predominately ninth grade and it’s pretty fun because everyone talks to me. It’s really nice.
I’m more of an outcast in eighth grade. My social patterns are really messed up. I don’t do anything consistantly. I like to do different things with different groups of people. Sometimes I’ll go over to the eighth grade basketball circle; I’ll hang out with upper-schoolers who have free period during that time; sometimes I’ll stay in the grill [for all of lunch].
Human beings are conservative by nature. Why are you not?
What can I say? I’m a bowling kid.
That’s definitely part of you’re identity here, because you make the bowling announcements. What do you want people to really know you for as opposed to being “the bowling kid”?
I don’t really know what I want people to think of me besides that I’m a good person.
What is your idea of a friend?
A person who will go a little bit out of their way if you’re in a tough spot. A good friend is a person who will go completely out of their way. A best friend will go COMPLETELY out of their way, laugh at you, and then help you.
Do you think people generally show that compassion?
It’s a choice. Whether or not you take it is another question. Everyone has taken that step to at least one person in their life. Whether it was a kid or adult, whether they choose to take it again based on their first experience, determines what happens later.
Have you ever been in love?
I’m in eighth grade, okay? I’ve had a crush before.
Did you tell the person?
Well, I think everyone in the grade knows. Like twelve people in the grade have a crush on her.
Nobody has the courage to tell anybody anything until high school. Unless you know that person likes you back, nobody has the courage in eighth grade. Some people do, but they have to be incredibly charismatic.
What effect do you think private school has on students?
The education’s good. Socially, you’re back about two or three years if you don’t get out a lot. It’s just the nature of what happens in life. The people you talk to are restricted to middle to upper class, so you don’t get to talk to people of all the classes. You don’t understand certain things. Growing up in [private schools], you’re very sheltered from the outside world. In public school, you’re kind of thrown out their a bit.
How do you know if you’ve never been to a public school?
My friends. There’s a lot of bullying and stuff. They say kids fake fights just for attention.
Why do you think that doesn’t happen in private school?
It didn’t in Park Maitland; that’s for sure. There doesn’t have to be a reason; there just has to be a rhyme.
Do you believe in God?
In general.
What do you mean in general? If you did, you would say “yes.”
Well, sometimes if you had a really bad day, you might think there’s no God!
Tell me about one of those bad days.
I don’t know why, but I was just really mad [one] day. I was just really cranky. I was a [new] teenager. I was going crazy. Nothing seemed to be going my way (looking back on it, actually quite a few things went my way.) All the small things were amplified and all the large things didn’t even matter. I was getting mad because the internet was working on and off. One of my things got ruined. When I had my food, I didn’t like it.
What makes you really sad? Not “I just made a fool of myself,” but really sad.
Death of a family member or thinking about the death of a family member.
Have you experienced that a lot?
Not that many times. The major time it happened, I was too young to really remember any of it.
Watching Law and Order: SVU makes me sad. The first episode I saw, a mother killed her child on accident. It’s just not a happy show!
Describe a time in which you were happy.
My Bar Mitzvah night. Not the day though—that was terrible. I was happy. First of all, it was an epic party—ask anyone who was there. I worked pretty hard for it. It was a really nice reward.
Do you believe a lot in that idea of working hard for something, then receiving the reward?
No, I’m instant gratification.
Do you think most people are “instant gratification?”
I think newer generations are.
Is it because of technology?
Yeah. Totally.
Do you think technology is a good thing or a bad thing?
Technology is a tool; it depends on how we use it. Back in the Greek era people used to memorize things. Now, we just look them up. That’s got to effect our memory a bit. We don’t exercise [our memories] as much.
Do you care about being smart?
I do. I know enough to know [that] I know very little.
What made you realize that?
I was having a philosophical moment. I was grounded for doing some stuff I’d rather not say, and I was lying on my bed because I had nothing else to do. It was basically that or reading, and reading was out of the question. I was in third grade. It was like meditation almost. I realized there is so much knowledge in the universe that we will never discover in our life times, and possibly for the duration of the human race. And, so, I know enough to know that I know very little. It’s a good phrase.
That’s a profound realization for an eight year-old, or for anyone to have.
Well, I figured out the Pythagorean theorem when I was four.
You figured out the Pythagorean theorem on your own, without a text book?
Yeah, that’s how my mind works. I saw a triangle, and I saw three, four, five, and I saw different patterns and stuff. I’d learned multiplication the year earlier because I’m advanced, and I was like, processing… processing… wait a second… I think there’s a pattern here! Of course I was off a little bit. I was prettty close. I didn’t use square symbols because I had no clue what those were. I didn’t learn that until later.