Sidra is my granddaughter. I began interviewing her just before her baby brother, William was born. I spoke on the record with her several times since then (6 Months Later: Being a New Sibling, Sib Interview – One Year Followup, Ten Years of Age).

Now that she and her family are back in California, it is easier to visit. We are visiting now. Earlier this evening we sat down and had a little chat.

Interview with Sidra 11-1-14

J: Hi Sidra, it is so great seeing you again.  Its a lot better than Facetime isn’t it?

S: Yes. FaceTime, well its boring because its fuzzy, it pauses, poor connection and you don’t get to be in the same place as the person. But its really cool that you get to see someone instead of just calling them.

J: Do you find yourself being distracted

S: Yes…

J: What makes you distracted?

S: The fuzz and the static

J: Well I’m really happy to be here right next to you as I type this.

S: I’m happy that you’re here too.

J: Tell me about being back in California after living in Chicago for a couple of years?

S: Oh. Well, there are no thunder storms and I don’t freak out in the middle of the night when I hear a big crash because of the thunder. I’m glad I’m back at my old home so I can see my old friends, Zia, Morgan, Jessica, Madeline, Jake and other friends. But I wish I never left because then I wouldn’t have missed so much time with all my friends.

J: What was good about Chicago?

S: It was fun. I actually got to have snow. It had an awesome American Girl place. The first ever built ever built, according to research. And I got so many of my AG dolls there and so many memories. If I wasn’t there I probably wouldn’t have all the things I have in my life today.

J: Yesterday I shared that picture of you as one of the Monster High dolls. Tell me why you like them so much.

S: They’re really cool. They don’t wear perfect makeup, they don’t have perfect posture, They don’t have perfect qualities and in their stories, it shows that they all embrace their flaws.

J: Why is that important to you?

S: Because that means that they aren’t perfect like Barbie. It doesn’t make you wish that you were perfect. They make me glad that i’m me.

J: Your brother is about 18 months old. Before he was born you said you wanted someone who could entertain you and who you could entertain. You said you just wanted somebody to play with and have fun with and somebody you didn’t have to ask Mom’s permission to go and see.

Tell me how you feel now?

S: I feel really happy. but he’s getting to the age that I will play [with him]. He will make me laugh and the I’ll laugh so hard that I can’t pick him up and play with him, and then he runs away. And whenever I get home I find a mess on the floor because of William and I can’t spend 7 hours of the day in my room because he’s sleeping.

J: Naps?

S: Yes.

J: How is it sharing a room?

S: Not really good. I love him so much but Mom says that he doesn’t have to come in my room then Dad says that he can come in. And they use it as another excuse so that they can spend time in their room. I wish there was a special room where they could put him that’s his room. He deserves his own room.

J: You said you didn’t want Mom and Dad to expect you to drop everything to take care of him.  You said, “Just because you have a sibling doesn’t mean you can’t live your own life.”  Tell me about a time when you had to take care of him even when you didn’t want to.

S: Well this happens a lot. when Daddy has to pick up Mommy from work, he usually doesn’t feel like taking William with him, so he dumps him on me. and he’s so wild. he runs around so much. I can’t do anything I want.

J: That must be annoying

S: Yes.

J: Anything else?

S: Not unless you have more?

J: Anything you want me to ask you?

S: Ask me about my American Girl dolls.

J: Tell me about you American Girl dolls. You said that each one has a different personality.

S: Rebecca is pretty much the Mom. She’s the oldest and even though they [all the dolls] are the same age. She is president of the united doll states. She loves acting. She’s brave, kind and always lends a helping hand. She doesn’t care what other people look like. Only how their personality is.

Lauren is a tomboy. She hides it but she really likes dressing up and being frilly. She loves hanging out with Julie and she always loves rollerskating. She’s very kind and very vivacious. She can also be a bit reckless. Especially when she tries to use her scooter to jump over a river and comes out sopping wet.

Saige loves dressing up, but not so much being frilly. Her passion is art and if Nicole, her twin brought home a plain white shirt and went out, when she came home it would be covered with paints and drawings.

J: Would Nicole be upset?

S: Yes, but then she would admire the way her twin did her work.

J: That’s nice.

S: Josefina is shy. She is very quiet but if given the chance, she can be very outgoing and do some very amazing things. Her personality is like #fluttershyfrommylittlepony

Julie is very pretty. She is a tomboy and likes rollerskating and hanging out with her fellow [American Girl] historical [doll] friends, Rebecca and Josephine. She is very brave and really, really loyal and no matter what, she will fight for what’s right and doesn’t care about the consequences.

Isabelle love dance. She also really likes gymnastics and has a very pretty hairstyle. She loves wearing things with glitter and, when Julie walks by, she claims that Isabelle’s outfit looks like she is at a concert, with all its glitter.

Nicole is Saige’s twin. They get annoyed with each other a lot and they really hate it when people call them each other’s names, especially because they are not identical. She loves music and Isabelle often dances with her when she plays.

J: You told me once that each of your dolls has a part of your personality. Tell me more about that.

S: They all have one quality that I have. Rebecca has acting, Lauren has tomboyishness, Saige has love of art, Josefina has compassionateness, Julie has loyalty, Isabelle has love of dancing and Nicole has the gift of music.all of them have one quality from me.

J: What qualities are missing, if any?

S: Well there is being athletic which comes with another doll that i named Jackie, generosity from Samantha, energeticness from Poppy, and maybe any other dolls that will eventually come into my dolls’ family.

J: Don’t the dolls that you already have have those qualities?

S: No they do not.

J: Thats odd. i would think they have at least some of those qualities.

S: They do. they just don’t have them as full on qualities unlike the rest of the qualities.

J: So each doll you have represents part of your qualities?

S: Yes.

J: I see that you are athletic energetic and extremely generous. How do you account for that?

S: I am all of these qualities.

J: So you have qualities that the dolls don’t right?

S: Yes.

J: Would you like to say anything to sum up?

S: Yes. it is always very fun to speak with everyone and i hope one day to have  a home to make movies with the dolls on youtube known as agjustice100.

J: Excellent job. Thank you very much for the interview and for typing some of this.

S: You’re welcome 🙂

Sidra and Rebecca