Shay Radhakrishnan

Shay Radhakrishnan, a sophomore at Math and Science Academy, is a 2013 graduate of ThreeSixty’s Intro to Journalism Camp. She contributed her first piece to ThreeSixty as part of a collaborate effort reporting on the “friend zone,” a story Shay pitched in brainstorm meetings. Shay jokes that she came to discover journalism after doing her best to avoid engineering camp. Hometown: Woodbury Favorite author: Margaret Peterson Haddix Favorite Musician(s): Marina and the Diamonds, Watsky, AWOLNATION, Incubus, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, San Cisco, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, Slayer, Black Flag, Mindless Self Indulgence, The Left Rights Favorite Movie(s): The Princess Diaries, Rise of the Guardians, Oz: The Great and Powerful Favorite places/things to do in the Twin Cities: Why can’t I just sleep at home? If you could interview anyone (living) who would it be? Ugh, this is a mean question. I guess I would want to interview Billie Joe Armstrong. Billie Joe is just generally an interesting person. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and he writes amazing music. Then there was the gradual shift with Green Day’s music style and they adapted to that perfectly. A lot of punk bands get accused of selling out, and Green Day is at the top of that list. They’re not even considered punk anymore, which is off to me because the lyrics still hold punk ideals. It’s just that the music has a more melodic quality, which I find impressive to see in that genre. Most punk music is loud, fast and excessively short. As a musician, Armstrong is incredible. But then you can come to appreciate him as a person. He makes loads of mistakes and he trips all over the place, but I love that he can come back from them and admit that he’s made a mistake. A lot of people consider Green Day to be washed up, but I still appreciate every last one of their albums. The earlier ones up to “Uno! Dos! Tre!” (amazing albums that didn’t get recognition due to the iheartradio mishap) have depth and musical quality. They also have fluidity, which is lost in most music nowadays with the rise of iTunes and purchasing single songs as opposed to entire albums. I think Billie Joe is a very intelligent man that has seen a lot and he would be amazing to talk to. What do you like about writing? I like writing my own things, I enjoy complimenting people and giving out constructive criticism. I enjoy hearing news from a regular person, I love hearing their takes on things. Especially if it’s from someone with a sense of humor. Seeing people lighten up a completely dull subject like politics makes it so much more interesting. I try to bring that whenever I write my own papers in school because I dislike the concept of having something I wrote being so dry. So essentially, I like adding my own twist to things. What issues are important to you? The best way to describe it is social justice. I’m huge on feminism, same sex rights, transgender rights, and just the general support of humanity being free to express themselves. I also support privacy and freedom of speech on the Internet. I think that human rights is an important topic that isn’t properly discussed to younger generations, and even worse is that adults automatically assume that we have no idea what we’re talking about. The concept that we’re treated like children until we turn 18, and then we’re expected to do a complete 180 is ridiculous to me. I also really love music and I could talk about it all day, but I don’t really think that’s an issue. What is your ideal future career? I don’t really have anything set up in my mind at all. All I know is that I like writing and music. I would like to be able to write about music or social issues. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Canada. Just think about it: I’s like America, but way better. We don’t have old white men trying to pass bills on abortion, they have cheaper prescription drugs, better healthcare, more rights for homosexual individuals, more rights for women, and they’re generally nicer. Except that one part that no one likes, I can’t remember if it was Vancouver or not. What are your special talents? Sleeping and crying in a fetal position over TV shows. But if we’re being serious, I wouldn’t say very much. I write piano music, I’ve been playing for about eight years or so. I write poetry, short stories, fanfiction (this is why I even have followers on tumblr, so shhh …), and lyrics. I’ve been told I’m funny and creative, but that’s about it. What do you do when you’re not at school? Sleep, watch TV, play piano, read, listen to music, write fanfiction (WE CAN HAVE WEIRD QUIRKS), blog What else do you think people should know about you? I shouldn’t be taken seriously most of the time. I’m ridiculous.