Rebecca Maxwell is a current sophomore at the University of Rochester, studying English and Political Science. She currently serves on the Her Campus at Rochester executive board as Senior Editor as well as a Her Campus Contributor. In order to truly grasp who Rebecca is, we asked her to tell us what a movie about her life would be like.
If Rebecca Maxwell’s life was a movie it would be somewhat like a drama, with the added sprinkle of comedy (just to give it some extra spice). It wouldn’t be a fluffy facade of the perfect life, but rather a real story of dedication and hard work, all in the pursuit of achieving one’s dreams.
Her Campus: Who would you want to play you in a movie?
Rebecca Maxwell: We don’t really look alike, but an actress who I’ve always loved is Emma Watson. As a child watching Harry Potter I always related to Hermoine and I loved her as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Emma Watson is graceful, strong and incredibly talented. I see a lot of similarities between myself andEmma Watson as well as the characters she seems to play(Also— a hill that I will die on is that Emma Watson should have been cast as Jo in the 2019 Little Women, but I digress).
HC: What song is setting your opening scene?
RM: Probably Pierre by Ryn Weaver. The vibes of that song are immaculate. I was obsessed with it when it first came out, but it getting popular on TikTok has me obsessed all over again.
HC: What scene do we open with?
RM: Probably a routine I start the day with, there’s nothing more real than seeing how you start your day (and I am not a morning person). Seeing the reality of me in the morning kinda sets the tone for everything— like that I’m a hot mess who lives in chaos but somehow still manages to put it together.
HC: What would the movie be about? Is it a big moment in your life or just a fun anecdote?
RM: I would want it to be a movie that people relate to. I would want the movie to start with me in high school, even though I don’t like to think about high school very much. In high school, I was the outspoken feminist who didn’t care about what people have thought about me and I’ve kinda built my personality around that trope. Arguably, I have the most boring life ever (in my opinion), but I guess I would want my movie to be about exposing life as a real college student who is unapologetically herself. Not one who’s rich, goes to an Ivy League, wins some amazing scholarship, lives in a luxury apartment. I work 2 jobs, study constantly and don’t really know what relaxation is. I would want the movie to start with me in high school showing who I am, and then going through college (hopefully) ending up at my dream law school and becoming successful to show that staying true to yourself does pay off. Maybe the movie can be kinda Lady Bird esque, having my not-so-glamorous life be the forefront of the piece.
HC: Does your movie feature a plot twist?
RM: Not really a plot twist I guess, but it does set the stage for basically what the rest of my life is going to be: For my entire life I wanted to be a doctor and I was told by all of my teachers that I was meant to be a doctor. But the more I went through school the most I realized that I hated math and science and what I really loved was politics, history, writing, law etc. I had already applied to some colleges as a biology major, but was compelled to change to a political science major to pursue what I really am passionate about, bring that idea of staying true to myself back into it.