ELI STEWART & CYNTHIA BRILLINGER
Eli Stewart, 15, and Cynthia Brillinger, 14. Lansdowne Park, July 23, 2016
Eli Stewart: “We were just watching the clouds. I thought I was having an epiphany, but I don’t think I was. But we should talk about movies. Movies are great. We went to The Shallows the other day. It was a funny movie … I found it funny. I didn’t think it was scary. I was laughing. But she found it scary.”
Cynthia Brillinger: “I found it really scary.”
ES: “But I like how, when I go to the movie theatre, it just kind of captures me in this world where I can forget about all the problems that I have.” Q What problems do you have?
ES: “I have no problems in life. Just, like, homework.” CB: “Yeah, homework is really stressful.” Q Do you come to this spot often?
ES: “This is the cool kids’ spot. A lot of kids come up here.”
CB: “A lot of kids in our grade come to Lansdowne, during the day, during the night.”
ES: “It’s nice to see the scenery at night, with the lights, and you get a nice view of the park and the weird water stuff.”
CB: “And you’re always guaranteed to see people you know, because everyone comes here.”
ES: “Which is kind of sad sometimes.” Q Does anything worry you? CB: “I worry about our resources. A lot of our land, like animal land where they slaughter animals, is a real strain on our resources. That’s what I worry about.” ES: “I’m worried that Donald Trump is seriously going to be elected for president. But everything in this world worries me right now. Right now the world is not a great place to live. I was telling my parents that when you’re younger you don’t know as much about what’s going on in the world, but as soon as you turn, like, 14, it’s like bam, reality just kicks you in the head, especially with the shooting at Parliament. Everything was great in my life, and then, bam.
“And I’m worried about how, in the States, a lot of black people are being shot, when they haven’t done anything wrong. But I think Canada is a well enough country; we’re very supportive and accepting of different races.”