Phillip Roquemore. Words that reverberate through people and eyes that pierce your soul. His smile can brighten your day in an instant. He is always there to listen, but is also always heard. He leads just as well as he is led. Phillip is a weird guy, but that is the most charming thing about him. Well, that and the puns and dad jokes he prides himself on.
The sophomore Film Production major had a lot to say when I sat him down for the interview. That’s a lie. He was lying down on the floor next to me as he answered my questions.
“Colorado is where the world was thrust upon me. Or I guess you could say I was thrust upon the world,” he says, adding that each place he lived in saw an important part of his development. “It tickles me to think about how much I’ve moved around, but I’ve grown to appreciate it now that I’m an adult.” Sententiously, he adds “Some people say the world is a scary place to live in. You’ve got to be scarier than the world.” He continues with some very deep thoughts and says, “Pilates. That’s a thing. Will I do it? I don’t know. Could be. I know my mother enjoyed it.”
Phillip is very close to his family–– about his father, he says, “Let me tell you about my relationship with my father. I respect the hell out of that guy.” When I repeated my original question again, he cut his train of thought to tell me that they moved to Oregon from Colorado, where he lived for seven years. He lived in Texas for five years after, or so he thinks. He’s sure he left Texas when he was fourteen to move to California and then he came to college in Boston.
It was in California that he first dabbled in film, when he transferred to an arts high school. Although he initially majored in theater, he ended up focusing more on film, which led to a minor in film and a job as a film intern at his school. His journey with film started with a film course sophomore year of high school and continued into junior year with two more film courses. That was when he realized that film was something he could see himself doing. He’s also a Marketing Communications minor, he adds. “Thought you might want to know that.”
On Emerson, he says that he likes how weird people can be here. “I’ve generally always gotten along with weird, quirky and artsy types of people and that’s basically the population of Emerson,” in the same breath, he voices every lazy person’s thoughts, “Sure, its good to do core exercises, but who ever remembers?”
“Other than living on the edge? I guess you could call me a thinker.” He says, faking a smoke when I ask him what his hobbies are.
Phillip enjoys creating. Films, satirical poems, songs and short stories… You name it, and he’s interested. He also did soccer for a little while. “From 4th to 7th grade,” he says. “Hey, does joking around all the time count as a hobby?”
If there’s one thing that his friends hate about him, its how distant he is from technology. But that doesn’t mean he’s distant from people: he enjoys being with his friends. “One of my favorite things in the world, which I think is totally underrated in this day and age, is good conversation,” he says. With relationships, too, he feels that other than chemistry, what he would want the most from someone would be engaging conversations.
He hopes to make it in Hollywood, and would like to see himself writing for a sitcom, as well as some feature films that he’s either directing or acting in. That isn’t the most important part of his future, however. “Out of life, I want to serve God and feel like I’ve gotten closer to him and the people around me. Love him and them. If I’ve done that, then no matter where I am in in my career, I’d be happy.”
He also wants to be married, possibly adopt a couple of kids and be involved with some charity organizations. But, he has other ideas for the future. “How often do you really change light bulbs? I like to think that there’s some light in everyone’s house that’s not been changed because they don’t use it. And years and years later, we’re going to run out of some material that we really need and it’s going to be in this light bulb, but what if no one ever knew because the light wasn’t used or changed?” Phillip would like to live every day slightly satirically and ironically.
Phillip likes to let things be. “I wouldn’t consider myself a control freak. I like to think of myself as a control normal person.” His take on life is different from most college students we see. “I live, I breathe, I cry, and I sleep. By this fact; ketchup is totally overrated.” He then went on to talk about how bad the ketchup industry has been over the last ten years and the lack of good fries to go with it. On a serious note, he says that his faith in Jesus helps him get through life. He’s content in knowing that God loves him.
This faith also led him to meet some of his closest friends at Emerson. “Emerson Christian Fellowship, in essence, is like a group of people—some of them don’t even identify as Christian—who connect over a desire to understand and love God better, have Him in their life to some capacity.” He adds a little life advice to his answer. “You gotta know when to pick up the shovel and work and put it down to have a good time. The shovel is a metaphor for work. And the good time is…well, it’s not a metaphor. ”
Phillip also has a great sense of style. “I’m not really a scarf guy. I mean, I look good in them and I even own scarves. But I hardly ever find a situation where I feel like I want to wear a scarf. It makes my neck hot. Not in a good way. Sometimes in the winter, it makes me feel good. Not this winter, though.” He also has some very interesting thoughts on piercings. “I would only get a nipple piercing if I knew my father would never find out about it. I am not saying I want one. If you really want me to get one, then you gotta bribe me and pierce it after my father passes away. But let me make it very clear that I don’t want one.” Of course, I had to ask him about hair care and get some advice, and he says cryptically, “No, I don’t own a curling iron. But I’ve used one.”
HCE: What’s your favorite book series?
PR: You know what’s a really good book series that no one’s heard of? Gregor the Overlander. I thought it was really underrated. They are so good! Really clever, really creative.
HCE: What about your favorite book?
PR: I do like the Bible, but I also really like The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. We’ll say the Bible first, as the most important book in my life and then The Hiding Place. It’s about a woman in Holland whose family hid Jews during the Holocaust. One of the greatest stories I know, just about love, sacrifice and forgiveness. I recommend everyone to read the book.
HCE: Who’s your favorite artist?
PR: Jon Foreman. Hands down. I connect with his lyrics and his music. It’s so beautiful. Especially his solo stuff. The song “Southbound Train” is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, in my opinion. Jon Foreman is great, basically. (Phillip also was gracious enough to perform one of Foreman’s songs for my roommate and I.)
HCE: What’s your favorite food?
PR: There’s a place called Sharky’s Cantina in Martha’s Vineyard. This isn’t Sharky’s Woodfired Grill. That’s a different Sharky’s, whole other chain, WHOLE other deal. Nachos at Sharky’s Cantina, in Martha’s Vineyard, which is the only place you can get them, are the best nachos you’ll ever have.
I’m not gonna say I hate Vitamin Water, but who in their right mind would choose it over Gatorade?
HCE: What’s your favorite movie?
PR: I love the movie Dan in Real Life. It’s a movie that not a lot of people know of, that I really enjoy. Soundtrack’s good; it’s pleasant. You know, it’s not perfect, but it’s an enjoyable story. I love the movie Forrest Gump.
HCE: Favorite TV show?
PR: Its somewhere in between The Office and Parks and Recreation. Like, if I could’ve written for any TV show that was already on air, it would be one of those two shows. They’re just perfect. So good.
HCE: Do you have a favorite store you like to shop at?
PR: The grocery store (chuckles). I tend to be thrifty, so I look for those “diamond of the roughs” at thrift stores if I can. I know that may sound hipster and pretentious, but that’s just because it is.
HCE: What’s your favorite form of social media?
PR: Facebook all the way! You may think I’m old, heck, sometimes even I think I’m old. But there’s just a certain way of connecting over Facebook that you just won’t get with your Instagrams and your Snapchats and Twitters. At the same time, there is a way of connecting in person that you won’t be able to do over Facebook. I generally use Facebook to post stupid statuses, glance at my newsfeed, maybe message people back for school stuff. But generally I don’t like messaging people.
HCE: Do you wait to get messaged?
PR: No, I wait and hope that I don’t get messaged. I like seeing people in person though, its great! Skype’s good because you can see the person’s face. FaceTime, I’ve never gotten into, its too young for me.
HCE: What do you look for in a girl?
PR: What do I look for in a girl…?
HCE: You know, like working organs, a skeleton…
PR: I was just about to make that joke damn it! Okay what do I look for in a girl…? I look for change—but only if she swallowed my wallet! (Laughs at his own joke.) I don’t feel like I set high expectations. All I want for her really is to be perfect. And then always give 110 percent into the relationship. But in all honesty, it’s a relationship, so I’d like for that person—just because my faith is so important to me, its something I pursue and talk about a lot—so I’d like them to be a person of the same faith as me. Beyond that, I have to be attracted to them. There’s a big difference between being attracted to them and them being stereotypically attractive. There’ve been girls that I’ve met where I hadn’t found them attractive and then I get to know them and suddenly they’re really attractive, you know? Physically. Ultimately, it comes down to personality. So important things, we need to have a similar sense of humor or at least connect over it. We need to be able to have great, engaging conversations and I’d like them to be someone who challenges me to be a better person. And who I can challenge to be a better person.
“I don’t like how much of a novelty bacon has become.”