Heros/Villains

For this assignment I interviewed someone who I have known for basically my entire life time. Someone who I really know and understand, a kind, shy person who wants the best for others even if it doesn’t benefit him in any way. I decided to review my good friend matt because of how close we are. Matthew Robert Straczek was born October 12th, 2000 in the city of Chicago. Matthew has Polish parents who lived in Poland most of their lives but decided to move to the US to start a family and so that their future kids would have more opportunities. Matthew is the oldest out of four kids, he has two brothers and 1 sister but when it comes to chores he is usually the only one doing them. Around the house he does most of the calls when it comes to making payments or other things due to his parents knowing a short amount of English. A very confident and smart kid around his parents but different around others. Matt wrestled in high school for two years but stopped because he wanted to focus more on school work, plus he didn’t really like wrestling that much even though he got pretty good at it. He is a Straight A student with AP and honor classes who wants to work hard and make money so that he can help out his parents and other family members as much as possible. He wants to be some sort of engineer, he just doesn’t know which one but he does have the brains for it. He got a 1490 on his SAT if anyone wanted to know. Matt and I grew up together playing with toys, video games etc… We stopped talking for a few years when we both went through different stages, he was sort of the annoying kid that you didn’t want to talk to and I was a very aggressive kid that didn’t want to share my belongings and it was hard for us to get along. We grew back as friends in middle school and have gotten closer ever since. We worked at a Banquet Hall together since My sophomore year and his freshman year in high school which we worked there together for about 3 years. Last year Matt joined me at a dealership, Ray Buick, he became porter like me. We try and do new things like visit new places and try new hobbies. We started to snowboard last month and have got pretty good at it in such short period of time. We do a lot together which makes our friendship stronger every time. To being the interview, I asked matt what makes us such good friends. He stated that we help each other with things that one can’t do. Me and Matt are sort of polar opposites of each other and that’s what makes our friendship great. If one is having trouble the other will most likely know a way to help. I’ve always been the person to just do things without thinking twice before doing so. Matt said in his interview that he likes to take things slow because in a way he doesn’t want to any big mistakes. I stated that I can easily start talking with other people while on his end he tends to be shy and not very outgoing. So in a way Matt and I make each other better human beings. We can all benefit from the friends closest to us, they are there when it’s rough and when it’s going good. The memories are what will make it all worth it. We talked about what you sees himself doing in the future. Which he said that he wants to help out his parents the best that you could because they have done so much for him. Matt really wants the best for his parents and family, he’s a guy who puts other before himself. He cares and that’s what makes him a great person. That can definitely rub off on others because there are people who are greedy and forget about the ones closest to them. Helping people who helped you is such a great feeling that everyone should do. We then started to get a little deep into the conversation in which I asked Matt if he ever felt lonely at a point in his life. He said that sometimes he feels that people are mistreating him in a way that he feels less important and that what he has to say people tend to ignore his thoughts. He also says that it leads him into backing out of social gatherings and sort of just being there but thinking that others think he actually isn’t. After we finished the interview he stated that this was around his sophomore and junior year and it was hard for him but he has learned to get along with others and his friends helped and showed him that he does have a voice and what he does say is being listened too and not getting ignored. During the question I thought about what he was saying and how him being different around other shows that he has a mask in a way. He says that right now he tries to take off his mask and act his normal way around people he doesn’t know because he states that no one wants to be with someone who can run you over but wants a relationship that can be mutual and that you can have fun and not feel lonely in. He acts shy around others but with friends very goofy and fun and very talkative. The type of mask that Matt wears can be harmful because he can hurting himself more trying to please others in that can be very toxic. Him trying to change his mask can benefit himself but getting rid of it may be harder than it seems. In my opinion a mask is something that everyone has, people shouldn’t feel bad for acting differently around others than you do around your friends, it’s natural. You aren't comfortable with strangers like you are with your friends. But in a way I think most masks that we have change as we get older. We tend to care more ass teens rather than adults who are more focused on their careers in families than what others think of them. Matt has a lot of challenges that he has faced and is going to face in life, but most things should go in his favor. He’s a good dude that cares about others and just wants the best for everyone. We have learned so much from each other throughout the years, I learned how to think twice before jumping into the conclusion and Matt is learning to be more confident around others rather than being shy. I can see Matt and I still being very close in the future because of the strong bond we hold. We tend to look out for each other and it benefits us greatly. He is still young and has so much to learn, but for a guy his age he’ll do just fine as he gets older.

Straczek, Matthew. Personal Interview. 11, February 2019.

Prokop, Piotr. Personal Interview. 11, February 2019.