Website: https://agnesanneauthor.wixsite.com/home
Tell me about yourself(what makes you you)
I'm a sophomore at a small private Catholic university in Southwest Florida. I recently switched majors from psychology to nursing. I am the oldest of eleven children. I still live with my family, as my college is a five minute walk from our house. I am currently running two YouTube channels - one for animation which I started in May 2019 (AranelBriar), and an AuthorTube channel which I started December 2019 (Agnes Anne).
Have you ever lived or traveled abroad ?
I have not, but I would like to someday. I think it would be interesting to visit Italy or Ireland.
Do you have any talents?
I've always been an avid artist, and started animating about three years ago. I also write some music for guitar, as well as fiction.
How did you start writing?
I started writing creatively in fifth grade because of an assignment from my teacher. I ended up writing way more than what was assigned and drawing pictures of all the characters. Throughout middle and high school, I found myself writing a lot of fanfiction (mostly from the Warriors Series by Erin Hunter and the Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan). However, I didn't really start taking writing seriously (as in, writing to publish) until my junior year of high school, when I started the first draft of what I hope to be my debut novel.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
Spicy shrimp roll (sushi). That stuff is so good.
What was your last moment of bliss?
When I went scuba diving for the first time in November. Being able to see all the fish and coral underwater was one of the most blissful things I've ever experienced - it's like you're in your own little world.
Do you have any secret obsessions?
Creating backstories for my characters. Like even the most (seemingly) mundane background characters have backstories that I come up with, it's pretty insane. Some people know about my obsession with my current work in progress, but I don't think anyone knows it goes that far!
Is the first impression people have of you accurate? Why or why not?
Probably not. I'm pretty tall for a woman (6ft), so some shorter people are intimidated by me at first, but I'm pretty chill so after awhile they get used to it. I'm also an introvert, so people who I don't know usually think I don't talk much and I'm super quiet. But when I'm with my friends I'm usually the loudest and am often making really stupid jokes about stuff.
If you could meet anyone who would it be?
The Pope (because he’s the Pope), but second to him would be one of my really good online friends who lives in Texas. I haven't even known her a year, but it feels like I've known her my whole life!
What did you dream of becoming as a child?
I wanted to be a scuba diver/marine biologist because I used to play this video game called 'Endless Ocean: Blue World', where you play as a diver and get to learn all the names of the sea creatures as you encountered them, and I just thought it was the coolest thing. I was pretty much obsessed with this game for the entirety of fourth grade. I still think it would be cool to dive, but just not as a job.
What feature /quality do you get complimented on the most?
Probably my ability to solve problems well. If something isn't working or someone has a situation that they don't know how to handle, I'm usually one of the first people they come to.
What fear have you overcome?
The fear of cutting my hair (other than like, a trim). I used to be so scared to get it cut or cut it myself because I didn't want to cut it too short and have it take forever to grow back out again. I didn't overcome this until the end of my senior year of high school, when I decided to cut about five inches off, making it an inch or two below my shoulder. Now, I have no problem cutting it!
When was the last time you sang out loud?
This morning at 2 am while I was playing ukulele for some reason. It was pretty fun!
What thing don't most people know about you?
I've always wanted to hike up the Appalachian Trail, or at least part of it. Most people wouldn't even guess that because I usually spend a lot of time indoors, either writing, animating, or working on homework.
What's your greatest achievement?
Writing 40k words during NaNoWriMo 2019. I never thought I'd be able to write that much in a month, especially while still having classes. It was even better because I had spent months trying to write the first 10k words of my book, and then I was able to write four times as much in way less time.
What are your hobbies?
Creating stories, whether that be through novels, comics, or animations. I'm actually currently working on an animated series on my animation YouTube channel. I also like writing music for guitar and sometimes ukulele, as well as playing volleyball, basketball, and occasionally ultimate frisbee. When I have time, I also like to read dystopian novels.
Have you ever been star-struck?
Not that I can recall. I'm not really all that caught up in fame and celebrities. Even if I get the chance to talk to someone who I admire or look up to, I'm usually pretty chill.
What valuable life lessons have you learned that you can pass on? Always save whatever file you're working on. Programs crash. Computers die at the most inconvenient times. You'll lose everything you did after your last save if you don't. I've learned the hard way, so trust me - save your files frequently. (Learned that from animating - you wouldn't believe how much that software crashes.)
Always be kind. I think that gets thrown around a lot, but for real, you never know what's going on in someone's life, so never be a jerk.
Every human being has dignity, because God made all of us. It doesn't matter what people look like, where they're from, how much money they have, or how popular they are - treat everyone with respect and dignity.
Lastly, 'fake it 'til you make it.' You don't have to know what you're doing, you just have to act like you know what you're doing (unless you're, say, a doctor. Then please, actually know what you're doing.). This has been somewhat of a life's motto for me, and it seems to have worked pretty well so far !
