Interviewer: Jessica Overcash
Interviewee: Mike Weinheimer
Interview Setting: Interview conducted in
Pollak building
Affiliation with interviewee: Peer in
Portrait as a Community class
(Start of Interview)
Jess: So Mike how are you doing today?
Mike: I’m doin good how about you?
Jess: Pretty good, you know it’s a rainy
day so I’m feeling pretty lazy. Um, could you give me some background
information about yourself?
Mike: Sure what would you like to know?
Jess: Where were you born, how old are
you, um, where did you go to school.
Mike: Okay, I was born at Washington
regional hospital, and I lived pretty much most of my life in Great Falls
Virginia, which is just half an hour from the DC area, and um, I went to school,
I guess I’ll go through my series, I went to Great Falls elementary School, and
then from there I went to middle school at uh Cooper, and then I went to high
school at Langley.
Jess: I know some Langley kids
Mike: half, or, not half an hour, twenty
minutes or even shorter from the CIA, so we were pretty close to that.
Jess: That’s pretty cool
Mike: Yea
Jess: Were you involved in any
extracurricular activities in high school?
Mike: Yes, I was involved, probably not
as much as most other students were, but I did do track and cross country for
three, I wanna say probably three years, I wanna say. I didn’t do it senior
year because um, not that it’s a bad thing but expectations,
Jess: Right,
Mike: for us at that level were kinda
like way too much.
Jess: Right, I can totally relate, I was
the same way.
Mike: And I would rather focused on
senior year, doing that so.
Jess: Yea, well that’s great taking a
break
Mike: Yea.
Jess: What was the neighborhood you grew
up in like?
Mike: Well, there really wasn’t a name
for it, we were pretty much just in the city of Great Falls.
Jess: Okay.
Mike: Which is what we call it, but to be
specific I grew up on Maria Avenue.
Jess: That’s a nice name.
Mike: Yea, it is, nice Italian woman’s
name. And uh that was off the main road Riverbend, where most people used to
travel where they need to based on where we lived.
Jess: Okay.
Mike: And it wasn’t really, kind of like
house to house next to each other, like cul-de-sac, it was more forest, um,
suburban living. And uh we did have neighbors but that was kinda hard, because
of either distance or relation, so for the most part it was just kinda
ourselves in the house, and um if we wanted to do anything communicate or meet
up it would always be somewhere else, like a driving distance away.
Jess: Okay.
Mike: And there were kids on my street,
but not really involved, in terms of socially.
Jess: Where they older or younger?
Mike: Um, each, It really depended on the
family, like it ranged. Most of them were pretty much older kids out of the
house doing their own thing, either at school, college, or career.
Jess: Okay, so young adults.
Mike: Yea. And the younger kids woulda
been way too young for me to even hang out with so.
Jess: Gotcha, did you have any pets?
Mike: Pets, that’s a good question. We
did have pets when I was younger probably elementary school to when I was a
baby, but at a certain point my parents kinda got fed up with it.
Jess: What kind of pets did you have that
caused so many problems?
Mike: no, no, no, It wasn’t like the
number of pets or what we had it was just my parents has dealt with kids, as
well as pets with the kids for so many years that they needed one less thing
and I guess they kind of, kind of um not lost but they didn’t really have the
need for pets anymore.
Jess: Okay.
Mike: So my last one was, she was called
whiffer, and she was a snouser terrier.
Jess: Aww,
Mike: So she was a cute little uh curly,
curly haired dog.
Jess: Sounds cute.
Mike: And at times I would play with her,
and I actually do recall one moment where I did act like a dog to get along
with her so.
Jess: That’s really funny, well you have
always been very theatrical.
Mike: what’s that?
Jess: You’ve always been very theatrical.
Um, in high school where there any interactions that still stick out in your
mind? Any favorite moments or events?
Mike: Oh gosh, such a wide span in terms
of those many years being there, but I do remember one moment or thing I did my
senior year with my friends. Or was it junior year? It was one of those years
though.
Jess: One of those crazy years.
Mike: Probably more senior year, because
it would have happened then but, um we were able to drive and park our cars on
the school grounds as a privilege, and um, after school one day close to the
Christmas holidays, probably the last day before Christmas holidays, um, I
decorated my car up with fake Christmas wreath kinda of yarn,
Jess: Oh some of those wrap around the,
wrap around the banister of the stair case things?
Mike: Yea, those things.
Jess: Oh okay.
Mike: So I had that with Christmas lights
on and what I did was I fished it through my sun roof of the car and plugged it
in through the cigarette lighter.
Jess: That’s crazy.
Mike: So I had that on, and I had my
windows um decorated with those window paints and what not, wishing everyone a
happy holidays and what not.
Jess: That’s cute.
Mike: And then, after school, to my point
that I was getting to, my uh friend dressed up like Santa Clause full costume
outfit, and bag of candy and candy canes. And after school since traffic was a
pain in the butt to get out sometimes, and students were all about hanging out,
talking, conversating, uh conversations, what not, uh we had the idea of he
would be outside the sun roof at the top saying “Ho ho ho merry Christmas “or
“happy holidays” and throw out the extra candy that he had left.
Jess: That’s awesome.
Mike: So that was a memorable moment that
stood out.
Jess: It’s a good one.
Mike: Yea.
Jess: And um you don’t have to get too
specific if you don’t want to but what other experiences do you think have
shaped who you are today? Like I know sometimes kids get into a lot of trouble
and they might regret it but then you have to owe who you are today to
everything you’ve gone through.
Mike: Well what I can say is that the guy
that I was back in high school is not the same guy that I am today. Back then I
was more, probably typical in high school too, but I was more self conscious,
and very aware of what I did what actions, or how I acted in terms of socially
amongst other people, tryna keep a balance between my friends and um the
teachers faculty and staff. And I would say for me it was kinda rough, well not
rough, but kinda difficult because there was that kind of set expectation for
me, cause my dad was an ex- high school principal, who was well known and did
really well in his field, so he knew a lot of people in the county as well as
people at my own school and what not. So a lot of people knew about me and my
dad and you know about him so you know it was kind of like, not high
expectation but like they’re looking at me as someone who could be.
Jess: Right, so you were an easy target?
Mike: Yea you could day easy target, but,
I wasn’t really a target I was more of a person to be looked up to I guess in
terms of my dad.
Jess: Oh Okay.
Mike: Compared to the other students they
had to deal with.
Jess: So since we kinda only got up to
high school what kind of advice would you give you know kids today pre college,
or kids in their generation should know about life until this point?
Mike: Well, I guess one thing that I
could say for that is don’t be afraid to be who you are or what you wanna do,
Don’t worry or get yourself down in terms of what other people would think or
do. Not to sound like one of those hallmark cheesy kinda card quotes but just
kinda be yourself.
Jess: Absolutely.
Mike: Don’t hold back and don’t let any
social or peer um criticism, comments, or worries or um thing of concern bug
you or um get in the way of how you are.
Jess: That’s great, that’s a very good
piece of advice. Its not something I would say I haven’t heard before but kids
have to learn the hard way, you know form day one its be who you are and be
true to yourself and still its hard.
Mike: Well it takes a lot to learn about yourself.
Jess: Absolutely.
Mike: I could say its more, more than
what you think time wise to get there, especially for some individuals.
Jess: Well thanks for talking with me
today Mike.
Mike: Your welcome Jess.
Jess: We’ve reached our limit but you
know have a great day and I’ll talk to you later.
Mike: Okay.
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