Interviewing and the joy of meeting new people

 

Image from https://tenor.com/view/simpsons-flirting-do-you-like-stuff-walking-gif-16413189


Interviewing and the joy of meeting new people

June 3, 2026

by Jen Davies, nerd


There was no blog last week - it was just a heck of a week! I had a choir concert to perform in (lots of rehearsals), I taught, and then I had to get on an airplane to a conference where I presented a workshop with two beloved colleagues. A heck of a week, made worthwhile by the fantastic people I got to spend time with.

As a counsellor, I interview people all day. That's actually a technical term that we use to describe the process and skills we use to collect a client's story. Unlike a media interview, a counselling interview aims to help a client look at their situation in new and different ways with questions and helpful paraphrases. With new and different understanding of their situations, clients can make informed decisions about their day to day thoughts and behaviour.

It's a great career for me, because I love people. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. 

Lately I've been interviewing people who are fans of Ben Solo (a Star Wars character embodied on film by actor Adam Driver), many of whom are involved with the slate of activities you can find at https://www.savebensolo.com - and they are so much fun to chat with! You can see the interviews with Ben Solo fan campaign people here: https://www.youtube.com/@jendaviesgenxnerd

These are people who I would likely never have had the opportunity to meet if not for the fan campaign.  Many of them are people who I also wouldn't have gotten to know due to differences in age (young and older) or experience (not a lot of other things in common). So I'm really appreciative of our shared love for Star Wars (and Ben Solo in particular). 

So let me encourage you also to keep your eyes open for ways to meet new people. It doesn't have to be over a fandom, though certainly I'd say it helps to have interests in common. You don't have to be a professional interview to have a great conversation with someone you might never have expected whose company to enjoy!


#starwars #thehuntforbensolo #adamdriver 

Comments

Sweetpea said…
It is so important to find connection with people. I am grateful for all the people I have met through the Hunt For Ben Solo Fan Campaign.
June 3, 2026 at 10:27 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dying isn't the hardest thing: Hunting for Ben Solo’s road to redemption in Adam Driver’s filmography and Steven Soderbergh’s narratives

Image
     Photo from https://screenrant.com/adam-driver-hunt-for-ben-solo-star-wars-movie-still-happen-deadpool/   Dying isn't the hardest thing: Hunting for Ben Solo’s road to redemption in Adam Driver’s filmography and Steven Soderbergh’s narratives by Jen Davies, nerd Oct 27, 2025 I'm a devoted Star Wars movies fan IRL, and I have been since my dad started showing me taped-from-TV versions of the original movies, maybe when I was a bit young (Ep6 was only a few years old when I was 5 or 6). Coincidentally I watched Ep7-8-9 together for the first time this past August, and raged as I did in 2019 at the sheer waste of the amazing villain Kylo Ren when he is turned into a plot device at the end - and wept again at the joy of the 4 minutes of Ben Solo that we got, the most alive plot device I've ever seen. He was brought to life only through body language and a single word of dialogue, and then he was ended without any opportunity to redeem his rediscovered self (more wast...
Read more

Role-modelling through entertainment to save lives: Why Superman (2025) felt so good, and why making films like The Hunt for Ben Solo matters

Image
Art by altocello for https://sites.google.com/view/thehuntforbensolo Role-modelling through entertainment to save lives: Why Superman (2025) felt so good, and why making films like The Hunt for Ben Solo matters by Jen Davies, nerd Nov 26, 2025 Trigger warning: Suicide and mental health concerns. Spoiler alert: Plot points of the Superman (2025) film, and possibly The Man of Steel / Snyderverse. Star Wars sequels plot points. Note: I will likely use terms and fail to define them because I’m integrating a lot of ideas here from diverse contexts, for example, emotional dysregulation (which refers to being a state of unmanaged high emotion) - not something we usually talk about in literary/film analysis. At my home we are reaching the end of Movember, and I’m so glad because my spouse’s moustache is out of control. Every year for at least the last 7+ years, he has shaved his face at Halloween and proceeded to fundraise on behalf of the campaign by growing a thing on his face...
Read more

What there is to appreciate about Tron: Ares, and a nod to Harlan Ellison's I, Robot Screenplay

Image
  What there is to appreciate about Tron: Ares , and a nod to Harlan Ellison's I, Robot Screenplay by Jen Davies, nerd Oct 30, 2025 Note: Full of spoilers. Folks are not satisfied with Tron: Ares . I went into it with my brain shut off and enjoyed it, however I understand all the criticisms. Let me point out a few things you might enjoy, if you're on the fence about seeing it. If you haven't read the script for I, Robot by Harlan Ellison, never made as a film but available in novel format, please read it. It is unrelated to any movie that has been made. It's fantastic, based on the many short stories about Robbie the Robot by Isaac Asimov. It's a complex story. The simplified thread that ties the stories together, as Ellison told it, is a human woman (Susan Calvin) who receives help from robots throughout her life which all turn out to be Robbie. As I recall, her first encounter with Robbie is in a factory that her father manages. Susan is a child and she stumbles...
Read more