Name: Sophonie W. Milord
Hometown: Newark/Irvington, NJ and West Palm Beach, FL
Major: Psychology
Minor: Creative Writing & African-American Studies
Birthday: June 11, 1994
Sign: Gemini
HerCampus has recently caught up with the ever busy, bright, and beautiful team member, Sophonie. We got a chance to discuss a few of her interests, activities, and words of wisdom.
HCM: How involved are you with campus activities?
SM: I am a student leader in the Residence Life Department as a Resident Assistant. I am also a Student Assistant with the Enrollment Management Department. Furthermore, I am involved with on-campus activities such as CaribSO [Caribbean Student Organization] as the Event Planner, and a general body member of HSA [Haitian Student Association]. I also attend several other meetings and events to support my fellow student organizations when possible. Last but certainly not least, I am a contributing writer for the lovely, witty, and amazing Her Campus Montclair!
HCM: What made you want to get into creative writing?
SM: As a 6th grader, I had all the awkward tendencies that any middle schooler is equipped with. I wasn’t necessarily picked on or anything, but I was definitely one of the students who did not fit in anywhere. I was definitely not cool, but I was not a loser. In fact, I often found myself running home in a confused daze about where I fit in. One day, I went home and started writing my feelings in a classic black and white composition notebook. These feelings developed into a silly poem about being cool. There was also a point where I began writing stories about guys that I liked and would share it with friends or classmates. However, each leading male in these stories would have a different name. Basically, I got into creative writing by being an uncool 6th grader and wanting to fit in somewhere.
HCM: What is one thing that you think should be taught in schools that is not already?
SM: It’s funny that you ask because I was literally thinking about this today while filing my taxes. It boggles my mind how we are automatically expected to know everything about young adult life as soon as we graduate from high school. However, at no point during high school are we taught some of the most essential tools on how to even be an adult. With that said, I think that the school system needs to expand courses to cover much more necessity based subjects. While I understand that perhaps some schools do cover more topics necessary for life, not enough schools do. So I believe all schools must be required to teach subjects such as Taxes 101 and Financial Alertness, which would cover budgeting, handling loans, building credit, and much more. I also think that there is a lack of authenticity in certain subjects such as history. Once students reach college, they are basically taught over what they learned to be true in their grade school days. With that being a factor, I think that a course such as Multicultural Acceptance/Diversity Training should be greatly encouraged throughout the American school system. In such a class as Multicultural Acceptance, students should be taught several key points about multiculturalism in regards to race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other things of that nature.
HCM: University or life experience, which one do you feel has helped you better prepare for life?
SM: I would definitely say that life experience has helped me to better prepare for life. For one, my family and I have constantly moved around the country from the time I was 3-years-old until I was 14. Some of the constant moving throughout my life was a result of familial decisions for a better life. Nonetheless, I have been blessed to see life unfold in front of me in many different ways within several different communities from New Jersey to Florida, and Georgia to Massachusetts. Being that I have experienced so many different cultures and witnessed a varying degree of issues in those cultures, I have been better prepared for university life and that after. The exposure I gained attending Irvington High School, which is in a predominantly black inner city area, allowed me to discover my passion for African-American Studies. Likewise, the issues I faced with my family while living in Georgia sparked a curiosity within in me to better understand the decisions that people make which led me to want to study Psychology. And as stated earlier, being that awkward 6th grader in Florida led me to begin writing poetry which was later developed into novel writing and such.
HCM: What advice would you give your younger self or peers?
SM: To my peers, I offer this very simple yet timeless piece of advice: “Get it how you live it.” This is the song title of an older rap song from the late 90’s by the New Orleans based rap group, Hot Boys. I’m often found stating this song title to my friends when they say to me in mid-conversation, “Don’t judge me.” In all honesty, my philosophy of life is to live it how you want to. No one can dictate your likes, needs, and wants. To me, “Get it how you live it,” means to live life as an unapologetic version of yourself. Be the best and realest you that you can be. Put no limits on your life or personality. Be you! The advice I would offer to my younger self is honestly the same that I would offer myself right now, which is to stop holding back who I truly am and stop trying to appease to the taste of others. Us “weirdos” are an acquired taste and if others can’t chew that, they can exit stage left!
Thank you so much Sophonie for chatting with us! Readers, if you see our fellow team member around campus don’t hesitate to say hi!