B: What is your name?
G: My name is Griffin Sullivan
B: What is your gender?
G: I’m a male.
B: What is your age?
G: 22
B: Do you go to college?
G: I do not go currently.
B: You do not go to college. Ok. Did
you go to college?
G: I did go to college.
B: Where?
G: I went to Raritin Vally Community
College
B: And what was your major?
G: My major was undeclaired
B: Ok. So first I’m going ot ask a
question about your family.
G:ok
B: How many people are in your imidiate
family including yourself?
G: Currently?
B: Yes
G: 3
B: And who are they?
G: My mother, my father and myself.
B: ok. Um what family member or members
are you particularly close to and it doesn’t have to be your
mimmedate family?
G: um my cousins who live in the
Chicago area are the closes members of my family who are not my
immediate family and um on and off again is my mother and father.
Depends on the week.
B: ok. Can you describe your
relationship with um one of those people you’re closest to?
G: Complicated. Um (pause) how would
you like me to describe the relationship?
B: Um, like
G: It’s a really broad question.
B: Yea, it’s um just like when do you
get along, do you get along like how do you get along type of thing.
Idon’t know it’s hard to explain. But complicated is fine just
(talking over each other) that word. It’s fine.
G: Just it’s complicated.
B: yea ok. Um what family member aren’t
you particularly close to and it doesn't have to be immediate family
member?
G: The rest of them? My grandparents
and I are kinda close. My grandma and I are really close. I'm not
that close to my grandpa on my father's side. My grandma on my
father's side just died recently so uh pretty much everyone that is
not on that list I'm not really close to.
B: Yea, yea, I was close to my
grandfather and then he, he passed away so.
G: Sorry.
B: I'm sorry about your grandfather.
Circle of life. Um and can you describe your relationship with people
that you aren't particularly close to?
G: It's just uh they don't agree with
some of my personal politics. I uh (pause) my dad married my mom when
I was 7 or 8, he's not my my birth father, so his side of the family,
not all of them are really close or warm with our side of the
family. I don't really get a lot of it but I don't spend a lot of
time with certain parts of my family I don't feel close to them and
some parts of my family I'll spend a lot of time with them. so.
B: Oh ok so it's like when you spend
more time with them you're closer with them
G: Typically. With the exceptions of
the parts of my family that have- we don't see eye to eye on anything
B: Right. It happens. I have people in
my family too (laughs)
G: Hail Satan, am I right?
B: hm?
G: Nothing.
B: What did you say?
G: I said hail Satan.
B: Oh, no.
G: It's true.
B: (laughs) Um and-
G: (laughing) Sorry
B: (laughs) What type of family did you
grow up in? How would you describe it? Traditional? Close?
G: Really complicated
B: (continuing) Dysfunctional?
G: Um hardcore dysfuctional when I was
young. I was kidnapped as a baby um by my birth father. Taken on a
high speed carchase across Colorado and he was drunk. Um so my mom
left him and came to new jersey to live with my grandmother on her
side. Um and so I I was brought up by them and I was a really
rebellious- I had hardcore ADHD uh I was always really intellegent
but really didn't know how to express myself at all. I was always
really angry and it made it hard for them to deal, especially when
she was working all the time and my grandma being old. So there was a
lot of tention all the time. My mom and I , like in elementary school
I used to always get into fist fights a bunch. Um I break things and
just a real rotten jackass. And uh, I don't know, she still loves me.
I don't know what's wrong with her. But uh when she met my dad things
kinda evened out a little bit but not much there were always
problems. Tense disfunctional. It's evened out now though, for the
most part.
B: Yea that's good. I mean, when yo're
younger it's hard to express your emotions because you don't know how
it's just how first insherberstns- (cut off)
G: I just always felt like no one was
listening to me. I didn't really understand parts of it, like why I
was different, why everyone else had more parents than I did and
stuff.
B: Hm. (mumbles) I don't know.
G: Such is life.
B: Yea. Everyone has different like
family situations and
G: I'm not over sharing am I?
B: No! It's good, it's good. Um are
showing your emotions encouraged in your family?
G: yes we're a very very open,
especially with my mom and I, we're very open and honest about our
emotions. We're uh, when we're angry we yell and scream at each other
and when we're sad we cry. Um we're a hugging family. When we're
happy we laugh and smile. Uh we don't really, I was never taught to
hold my emotions back. I know a lot of dudes are and I don't get it.
If you're feeling something feel it. So that is how we pretty much
behave. It's always hard to get a read on my dad though. I'm not
really sure if or whenever he's really feeling anything. I don't like
that.
B: Yea. Yea it's hard. Usually I feel
like, like you said guy dont' express their emotions as much as women
do, but I dont' see why it's a bad thing. I don't know.
G: in my experience women hate it when
you cry like a little bitch.
B: Well (laughs) you don't cry like a
little bitch.
G: But I do.
B: Well whatever. (laughs) Um how many
friends would you say that you have who are really close to you.
G: Right now? Or, too many. Uh. Really
close friends.
B: Usually I like to think of it as if
I was in jail who would come to get me haha! That's how I think of
it.
G: I know who would be the first person
I'd call. But I share like like I just for my friend group it's more
common for them to (?) out because it's not who would come get me
it's who has the car and the money to bail me out.
B: slight laughing gasp
G: Which narrows the list down. I think
probably 10 really close friends I think I can count on if I needed
them.
B: Mhm
G: And other 20 just outside of them.
B: That's a good amount of frineds.
That's really good.
G: Yea. I don'w knot why people seem to
like me. It's weird.
B: That's cause you're awesome
G: Aw thank you.
B: I think you're awesome. I love
talking to you. Um so who is your closest friend?
G: Right now, My two friends raymond
strife and ashley are my two closest friends.
B: And how did you meet them?
G: Uh I dated ashely. She was a friedn
of a friend and she seduced me. It was awesome. She seduced me by
beating my assin jusit tsu and then starting to kiss me. Which was
impressive. Little slip of a girl too. And I met ray through uh the
punk scene uh he was friends with a lot of people I was starting to
meet and uh one night I drunkenly got into his car to go to a show he
was playing. I didn't realize I was in the car with him and uh I
actually ended up with alchool poisoning that night. But uh I jumped
out of the car while it was moving because I didn't realize that the
car was going to the same place I was and so the next day he started
talking to me more (laughing) (B laughs too) he's like you're a
really weird kid but I like it.
B: that's cool. I was going to ask can
you describe that relationship but
G: Ha! Uh It's interesting. We're both,
frequently intoxicated uh screw ups uh. Not lived up to our potential
he's incredible intelegent but he's a pizza delivery boy and a
professional rapper. And I am uh professionally unemployed.
B: I think you guys are both, well I
never met him, but I think like you're really intellegent. Like more
than some kids who go to college.
G: Easily. College kids suck.
B: Yea. (G laughs) Probably shouldn't
be saying this on here but- whatever! (laughs)
G: It's alright. If you can't engage in
a deep philosophical debt with me and you're a senoir you did
something wrong.
B: yea exactly. There's so many kids
who go to school and they're literally kids like you're not ready-
G: Mommy and daddy bought you your
education and you dont' have to work hard because they have
connnections. Maybe you didn't learn as much as someone else.
B: I don't know.
G: That's kinda judgemental. I- I There
are plenty of smart people-
B: definitely
G: who have their parents buy them
their education but uh I don't know. Maybe i'm bitter that I didn't
finish college. Grr.
B: Grr. It happens but you can feel
that way. It's okay.
G: Thanks for your permission.
B: Well some people are like I
shouldn't feel that way and it's like yea you can feel that way it's
your emotion.
G: I like to think I'm pretty intouch
with who I am most of the time and if I feel a ceratin way I have
every right to feel that way. I don't need to make apologies or
exceptions to any one else.
B: yea and that's how people should be.
G: It's part of how I am. Thank you.
B: Um. Aand do you have any other
imporant people in your life? Like teacher boss family friend
mysterious stranger, that's what I wrote down (laughs)
G: Let me think. Like role models? Or
like people like actually actively helped me in life that I look up
to?
B: Um I guess role models would be like
a good word yea
G: None of my role models are that
people anyone should have as role models
B: (Laughs)
G: But yea like I
B: Do you want me like- my next my next
part of that question would be um can you describe what they did for
you and why that's important. I don't know if that will help but...
G: Yea I uh my favorite band is the
world inferno friendship society and the lead singer's name is jack
terricloth and I always admired and looked up to him. Um I only met
him a couple of times personally. We had a couple of small chit
chats. I don't know him that well but his his stage presence and the
way that he presents himself and the way he writes just kinda clicks
and it's inspired me uh since first getting inot the band to be a
little bit more uh engaged and a little bit more uh extroverted. To
just act like the owrld 's a stage and and not worry about how that
is going to be precived and I think that's improved my social dynamic
a lot. So. that.
B: I think you're- I think. I don't
know how you do it but you always make friends with everyone. I feel
like. I mean except for nazis but (laughs)
G: Yea well racists can go uh go burn.
High school interview. (B laughs) Let's not talk about any crimes I
committed (laughs)
B: yes it won't believe me no
G: don't need to record that
B: We just need some background
information and then get into book.
G: Oh yes nice!
B: Which we are actually going to get
into now.
G: Alright, excellent I love reading.
B: So this is about your childhood
experience with reading. What was your first reading experience that
you remember?
G: alright so. My mother and my
grandmother have always pushed uh literacy and reading as a fun
activitie on me like very since I was like baby baby like infant um
one of my first memories is sitting like in bed uh not even in bed in
my crib having my mother and grandmother both take turns reading
chapters to me from books um. Complicated books too like don quiotie
and things like that just I wouldn't completely grasp the the subject
matter or entirely understand the stories but things with colorful
characters even complicated things with colorful characters. I've
always just kind of gravitated to and they've always grabbed my
attatnion hard and uh so my earliest experience with reading like I
have a clear memory from when I was like 1 and a half
B: Wow
G: when my mom was just reading. That
was more of uh a picturey book but I always remember us sitting there
and doing that.
B: That's aweome
G: Yea. I credit her for most of my
intellegence. If it wasn't fo rher pushing me I probably wouldn't
(puase) be who I am.
B: that's cool. I don't like I don't
personally remember my parents reading for me but I remember my mom
would take us to the library all the time and I would always juust
sit and read books
G: Yea we would do that like twice a
week. Like my mom, I remember like cause I lived with my grandmom for
a while, my mom and I did in her little appartement in ewing and am I
being loud enough?
B: Um I don't know
G: Because that would suck if this
entire interview didn't click
B: Let me see (pause and listen) So
where were we?
G: Is it recording again?
B: Yes.
G: OK so
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