Published: Monday, November 29, 2010
Super Kid: Kjell Westra, Monroe High School
-
Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Kjell Westra, a junior at Monroe High School, is writing a dark fantasy book.
Fantasy writer
Kjell Westra, 16, Monroe High School junior
Q: You play the clarinet in the wind ensemble band. What do you like about the instrument?
A: When it's played right, especially when you have a wooden clarinet, it has a very good, warm sound to it. It's very nice to listen to when you get the right tone.
Q: Do you have any favorite clarinet musicians?
A: No, but I've got to say my clarinet teacher (Mary Kantor) is pretty good. She's part of the Bellevue Philharmonic Symphony, and she's the lead clarinet.
Q: You mentioned you like playing emotional music. What composers do you enjoy?
A: Bach is always interesting to play. He kicks my butt all the time.
Q: What's on your iPod?
A: I'm just an average kid. I have a lot of rock, although I do like to listen to classical music once in a while. … I like Breaking Benjamin — I like that band. AC/DC.
Q: You mentioned you have an audio processing disorder. What is that exactly?
A: I hear what you're saying, but it has trouble getting to my head … and so naturally I take longer to do stuff because of that.
Q: Does that affect your music?
A: Not really. It might take me a bit at first, but … the disorder really doesn't affect music any other way. (Music's) dealing with your hands and dealing with creativity, and that's not really affected by it.
Q: Are you thinking about college yet?
A: Yeah, I'm probably going to take a minor in music. Honestly, there's not a lot of money in music.
Q: What do you think you might major in?
A: I'm thinking about doing some kind of field in engineering or sciences, one of those two. … But I've got a couple other plans that I wish to do after college. I consider myself a very ambitious person.
Q: In a dream world, what's your path?
A: I'm already working on it. I'm writing a book right now. … I've got a lot of ideas. The reason I consider myself ambitious is because I want it to be as good as (J.R.R.) Tolkien — and I know it's (my book) going to be as good as Tolkien — and I want it to be as good as (J.K.) Rowling — and I know it's going to be as good as her. And I eventually want to get as good as Shakespeare. It sounds crazy, I know, but I've really been working hard.
Q: So you're working on a fantasy epic?
A: Definitely. A very dark fantasy, though.
Q: You seem creatively driven. Do you play sports also?
A: I play soccer. Apparently the first game I played, I picked dandelions. That was when I was like 3 or 4 years old. That was way back when.
I play on the high school soccer team, which is a lot of fun. … I'm hoping that I make varsity this year.
Q: You're also a Boy Scout. What did you do for your Eagle Scout service project?
A: I built a camp site up at Wallace Lake and Wallace Falls Park near Gold Bar. I had to get the material airlifted in, and then we drove up this DNR road so we could get within a mile of the campsite, because it's a backcountry campsite.
Q: How does it feel, to reach the Eagle Scout milestone?
A: It's a very good feeling, a very satisfying feeling, because it's one of the biggest projects I've ever done.
It took me a good 450 hours to do. I had to work extensively with the park ranger on this, and coordinate with him.
Q: If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
A: I'd like it so we could have less healthy food again. I miss that. I'm sorry. It's bad of me, but I really don't care. We used to have Pepsi, and now we only have diet. It's really not pleasant.
Q: Where do you think you'll be 10 years from now?
A: Rich, famous. My book's out — making dough off of that. Getting asked to be a screenwriter. I've got my college degree but don't need to use it. Probably living in north California. Wife and kids.
Know a super kid? Contact Andy Rathbun at 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Kjell Westra, 16, Monroe High School junior
Q: You play the clarinet in the wind ensemble band. What do you like about the instrument?
A: When it's played right, especially when you have a wooden clarinet, it has a very good, warm sound to it. It's very nice to listen to when you get the right tone.
Q: Do you have any favorite clarinet musicians?
A: No, but I've got to say my clarinet teacher (Mary Kantor) is pretty good. She's part of the Bellevue Philharmonic Symphony, and she's the lead clarinet.
Q: You mentioned you like playing emotional music. What composers do you enjoy?
A: Bach is always interesting to play. He kicks my butt all the time.
Q: What's on your iPod?
A: I'm just an average kid. I have a lot of rock, although I do like to listen to classical music once in a while. … I like Breaking Benjamin — I like that band. AC/DC.
Q: You mentioned you have an audio processing disorder. What is that exactly?
A: I hear what you're saying, but it has trouble getting to my head … and so naturally I take longer to do stuff because of that.
Q: Does that affect your music?
A: Not really. It might take me a bit at first, but … the disorder really doesn't affect music any other way. (Music's) dealing with your hands and dealing with creativity, and that's not really affected by it.
Q: Are you thinking about college yet?
A: Yeah, I'm probably going to take a minor in music. Honestly, there's not a lot of money in music.
Q: What do you think you might major in?
A: I'm thinking about doing some kind of field in engineering or sciences, one of those two. … But I've got a couple other plans that I wish to do after college. I consider myself a very ambitious person.
Q: In a dream world, what's your path?
A: I'm already working on it. I'm writing a book right now. … I've got a lot of ideas. The reason I consider myself ambitious is because I want it to be as good as (J.R.R.) Tolkien — and I know it's (my book) going to be as good as Tolkien — and I want it to be as good as (J.K.) Rowling — and I know it's going to be as good as her. And I eventually want to get as good as Shakespeare. It sounds crazy, I know, but I've really been working hard.
Q: So you're working on a fantasy epic?
A: Definitely. A very dark fantasy, though.
Q: You seem creatively driven. Do you play sports also?
A: I play soccer. Apparently the first game I played, I picked dandelions. That was when I was like 3 or 4 years old. That was way back when.
I play on the high school soccer team, which is a lot of fun. … I'm hoping that I make varsity this year.
Q: You're also a Boy Scout. What did you do for your Eagle Scout service project?
A: I built a camp site up at Wallace Lake and Wallace Falls Park near Gold Bar. I had to get the material airlifted in, and then we drove up this DNR road so we could get within a mile of the campsite, because it's a backcountry campsite.
Q: How does it feel, to reach the Eagle Scout milestone?
A: It's a very good feeling, a very satisfying feeling, because it's one of the biggest projects I've ever done.
It took me a good 450 hours to do. I had to work extensively with the park ranger on this, and coordinate with him.
Q: If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
A: I'd like it so we could have less healthy food again. I miss that. I'm sorry. It's bad of me, but I really don't care. We used to have Pepsi, and now we only have diet. It's really not pleasant.
Q: Where do you think you'll be 10 years from now?
A: Rich, famous. My book's out — making dough off of that. Getting asked to be a screenwriter. I've got my college degree but don't need to use it. Probably living in north California. Wife and kids.
Know a super kid? Contact Andy Rathbun at 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(