Rebecca Louie
Rebecca is a sophomore at Marlborough School, in Los Angeles, California. She is passionate about journalism, and has held both writing and editorial positions on her school newspaper. Having also previously studied photography, printmaking, and architecture, she has an interest in the intersection of writing and art in the media. Though she has never explored it before, she is excited to learn more about the Koreatown Garment District, from both its storytelling and design aspects. Rebecca swims competitively and dedicates her free time to her family, friends, and her books. She hopes to pursue a career in journalism, publishing, or anything that will allow her to travel around the world.
Even if It’s Just FaceTime
Interview by Cheyenne Kim and Kimberly Espinosa
Where is your hometown?
I was born in Los Angeles, California, and then I lived abroad in Melbourne, Australia, for three years. Now I live in L.A. again.
What was it like living in Australia?
It was really different. I moved there when I was nine years old for my dad’s work and lived there for three years. So it was a new experience.
We got to learn about a new culture and meet new people. But I think L.A. has always been like my home.
That’s really cool. Why would you call L.A. your home?
I think my roots are definitely in L.A. I feel like I’m an L.A. girl. My family is here, and my closest friends are here, so I think for me it’s really about the people who I love and where they are.
Do you live or work in Koreatown?
I do not live in Koreatown, but I go to school here.
What are your thoughts on Koreatown?
I think I actually don’t know that much about it. But I do know it has a lot of culture, a lot of diversity, and so many different people. I think it’s really interesting how it has kind of developed on its own, a little differently from L.A. in a way, but also how it’s connected to the whole city.
How has living through the pandemic made you feel?
I think more than anything, living through COVID-19 has made me feel isolated because I can’t see my friends as often, or my family. And so I really do miss them. But I think getting through it is hopefully making me stronger. But yeah, it’s been tough.
Is there anything you’ve been doing to stay connected with other people, or the community around you?
Definitely, I think FaceTime daily is a must. And besides that, I’ve tried to connect with my family more during this time because we all have a lot more downtime and we’re all with each other all the time, so we’ve started doing more board game nights and movie nights, which has been really nice.
Have you been able to watch TV or news regarding the topic of COVID-19 nowadays?
Yeah, I listen to the news every morning, and COVID is always in there, so I feel like it’s in everything, and that definitely affects the way you feel throughout the week.
Can you tell me about your experience with online school?
For me, online school has gone pretty well. I think it isn’t as interactive as in-person school, so I think that takes away some of the fun, but I find that I’m able to focus pretty well online, and I do appreciate that now I have more free time because there’s no commute to school and no walking from class to class, so it’s easy to squeeze in my homework between classes.
But I do miss seeing my teachers and my friends because this whole year has been online. I never really thought about this until recently, but some of my teachers have never actually met me in person. I’ve only known them through Zoom, which is so crazy, but that’s what my school experience has been like this year.
What do your days look like throughout the week?
I usually wake up and get ready while listening to the news, eat breakfast, and then online school starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 3:00 p.m. Recently, my school has allowed athletics to start happening again, so I’ve been going to school to do swimming after classes end. Unless I have Koreatown Storytelling Program on Wednesdays, and then afterward, I’ll do my homework and call friends.
Is there a favorite part of your day?
I think my favorite part of the day is dinner. We all sit down for dinner, and it’s nice to talk to my brother, my mom, and my dad. Even though we’re all in the same house, I don’t really see them until that time, so it’s nice to connect.
Overall, what do you think has made this experience while “quarantining” meaningful for you? What have you learned from this time?
I think the most important thing that I’ve learned from this quarantine is that when I’m able to see my grandparents and my friends, I think I really realize how much I missed them and how much I missed the interaction. It’s something that I took for granted before and now I don’t, I think. A habit that I picked up during quarantine was calling my grandparents every week because some of them live alone and they can’t see people because they’re older so I think that just making an effort to connect with family and friends, whenever I can, even if there’s a pandemic, even if I can’t see them, even if it’s just a FaceTime. This is something that I’ve taken away from this pandemic. And hopefully, when everything gets back to normal, you know, I’ll be able to give them a big hug and see them again.
What are your thoughts on the future?
My school is returning after spring break, so classes are all in cohorts and not every day. But I’m excited for that. I think I’m just holding on for now and hoping toward the future.
