Senior Spotlight: Claire Naumann
After doing her time as an underclassman at Immanuel and going home for junior year, Claire Alice Naumann has returned from rainy Washington state to make the senior class a bit sunnier. Well, maybe she’s better known for dealing out doses of hard truth than being Little Miss Sunshine, but either way, it’s definitely what we all needed. I sat down with her at Acoustic Cafe to ask her some questions while she watched me spill a sandwich all over myself:
Faith: Alright, let’s start off with a good old trip down memory lane. Any stories from the dorm life?
Claire: All the little things with Julia freshman year. Study hall silences were real. We’d make random noises at each other instead of speaking. But one time I just looked up at her and said, “If I killed you in your sleep, you’d never know.” I had to clarify that I was not, in fact, planning to kill her.
F: What about a good memory from Washington?
C: In the sixth grade I was coeditor of our school’s news show. My friend and I had to take some pictures for it one day but our camera was out of battery, so our teacher let us use his phone instead. We ended up hiding in the bathroom at one point, looking through his camera roll, and another girl came in unexpectedly. The logical thing to do was for me to stand on the toilet so there’d be only one set of feet in the stall. If she thought that something was up, she didn’t say anything, just washed her hands and left.
F: I dare you to try to list your hair history in order of color.
C: Chronological order is not going to happen. But I’ve had teal, hot pink, blonde, green, dark purple, dark blue, and this green-brown-orange color.
F: Got any pet peeves?
C: . . .do you want all of them?
F: Yes.
C: Oh boy. People bouncing their legs in class (if it makes noise), pen-clicking, tapping on desks, when I’m trying to help someone and they say “I know,” people clogging the hallway, people who are loud all the time, people who clear their throat too much, and redundancy.
F: If you could have a talent for one thing that you’re not currently good at, what would it be?
C: Flexibility.
F: Pick one food to eat forever.
C: Fruit Loops.
F: Speaking of your maturity. . . plans for after high school?
C: I’ve been accepted to University of Washington-Tacoma already, which is where I’ll be going next year if I don’t get accepted to their Seattle campus. I want to major in psychology, get a PhD, and do psychological research. This is all assuming that I don’t fail Calc, that is.
F: Advice for high schoolers?
C: Don’t suck. Be nice to people, give them the benefit of the doubt—but don’t let them take advantage of you. Be your own person. Too many people at ILC are the same thing over and over again, and people will respect you for being brave enough to break that mold. If you’re having a hard time, it’ll get better. Just . . . don’t suck.
Favorites
Movie: “The Man From Nowhere”
K-pop group: TVXQ
Book: “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage”
Tea: Jasmine
Anime: Inuyasha
Meme: This rad dude
Claire In 10 Years:
Jordan Q.: Living in a penthouse apartment in Seattle, eating lots of pasta and fangirling over various celebrities.
Alex: Living in Seattle in the bombest apartment with posters of 1D and all her fave K-pop groups. She still has her head shaved and dyed a sweet color, has her eyebrow pierced and lots of meaningful tats. She has a degree in psychology and is always helping people because she’s filled with wisdom beyond her years. She’ll also have a fat cat named Louis and have that same spunky sass forever.
Rose: Working with Jamie Tworkowski to write a best-selling book and starting a candle brand that smells like Kat Von D lipstick.