Kyra Tan

Well folks, we’ve got a lot to cover this time, so I won’t pontificate. Our bachelor this week (he/him, class of ’24) is interested in meeting people who use she/her pronouns.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Feero: Who was your childhood hero, and are they the same person now?

Bachelor: Well, I have one, but it starts in a dark place. One of my childhood friend’s parents died in a car accident, and he was left in a wheelchair. But, there was this professional football player who came and spent time with him and helped him … I really looked up to [the player] even before he got really good. After that, he became one of the best defensive players of all time. He was my hero back then, and even though I’m not really into football anymore, I still really respect the guy for that.

Q:  Do you think that dreams have hidden meanings?

A: I guess I’ll take the more science-y approach to this. I think dreams are kind of like simulations of what may happen in your life or different situations you might find yourself in. So, I don’t think they have hidden meanings. There’s not a dream-reader who can tell you what your dream means, but I do think you can get better at figuring it out. Sometimes it’s things that happen the day before that make you dream of something, and sometimes they’re actually really helpful. I’ve thought of advice for friends in [my] dreams before.

Q: How many hours before a flight do you get to the airport?

A: Hmm … one and a half is what I try for.

Q: Yikes, remind me not to travel with you—my anxiety would not be happy. That’s pretty short, especially if it’s a big airport! Do you miss flights often?

A: No, I never have actually. I’m from [a random, unidentified large city in the U.S.], but it’s really not a big deal. Maybe I’d get there early if I wanted to get food, but you just have to get to the gate right as they’re boarding. I don’t want to be sitting on the plane. But to tell you a story, one time I took a taxi to the Portland jetport and, when I got there, I realized I had left my laptop at Bowdoin. So I called the taxi again, got driven back to campus, picked up my laptop and went all the way back to the airport. At this point it was pretty late, so I was sprinting through the airport and fell flat on my face ten feet from the gate in front of everyone. But I still made the flight!

Q: What is the hardest life lesson you’ve had to learn?

A: I always say no to things. I’ve got this mental block on saying yes to stuff.

Q: Interesting, I feel like most people are the exact opposite of that, like they don’t know how to say no to things.

A: Really? I can’t say yes to things. I always crouch back and am like, “No, no, no. That’s not going to work.” I’m someone who has to know how things will end up before I do something, and if someone throws an option at me just spontaneously in the moment, I kind of freak out. So I think my life lesson is learning how to overcome that, and being more spontaneous is something that I’m still working on.

Q: Bold statement for someone who arrives at the airport gate while they’re actively boarding, but okay. Last question, well, situation. You see a puddle. Do you walk around, jump over or just plow right through?

A: I never plow through it, I’m certainly not getting my feet wet. I get there, stand and judge whether I can jump over it. I decide if I can or can’t, then I act accordingly.

Q: Seems like you’re a planner. Maybe that would be an excellent place to start practicing that spontaneity!

Think you could get our bachelor to be more spontaneous? Or maybe your ideal date is in planning it. In fact, I can picture it now: you two huddled together arranging everything in the airport parking lot while your flight takes off in the background without you. Adorable.

As usual, find me at mfeero@bowdoin.edu to express your interest, and I’ll let our bachelor know that you’re intrigued. Assuming he feels the same, you’ll get to ask him on a get-to-know-you date. I have a feeling (it came in a dream, actually) that you’ve got just what he needs to break out of his comfort zone and say yes.