Name:
Jovanna LaPlant
2. Age:
17
3. Hometown AND State:
Minnetonka, MN
4. Sheltered Reality Practice Site:
Minneapolis/St. Paul
5. How long have you been in the group?
4 years last November
6. What’s your favorite Bible verse/chapter/book?
Psalm 94:18 When I said ‘my foot is slipping,’ your mercy, oh LORD, held me up.
7. Were you a drummer BEFORE Sheltered Reality?
Me?? Nah.
8. How many HOURS per week (on average) do you play the drums, practice SR beats and songs, or just jam for fun?
Time, as Einstein has thoroughly proven, is relative… ehem, but relative to how much I should be practicing, not enough.
9. How many HOURS per week (on average) do you work on Turbo Jam, work on SR choreography, or just work out?
I don’t know… maybe an hour or two on average.
10. If you do your own work-outs, what do you like to do?
Pull-ups are fun J
11. How many HOURS per week (on average) do you work on SR mission related things OR your own missions to change the world?
I try to participate in all of our group mission projects, but unfortunately, I missed the last one.
12. What is your favorite bit of SR choreography?
The YMCA partner dance. It is soooo much fun.
13. What is your favorite show you have performed in OR seen from the audience? Why is this your favorite?
This question is way too hard! How am I supposed to pick just one show? Can I pick several? Okay, good. Last MTR, the community show in Watertown, and the first show in which I taught the Steps of Success. J These just really stand out to me, mostly because of what was said at the shows or whom I was drumming with, not the actual drumming.
14. If you could thank one person for something they did in your life at this point in time, who would it be and how would you thank them?
I would thank a few friends whom I write with. As the saying goes, as steel sharpens steel, so one man sharpens another. I’m not sure how I would thank them… perhaps with a monolithic monument, the likes of which would rival Lady Liberty.
15. If you had to tell a random stranger, who has never played drums or any musical instrument, what Sheltered Reality is and stands for, what would you say?
I would tell them that we are a faith-based drumming group, and that we tell people they can succeed at anything they want to if they follow our steps to success.
16. What is something that nobody knows about you?
If there was a world champion title for best Jr. Pac-man player… it would be mine!
17. If you were to make a bucket list, what would be top of the list?
To travel to Germany, live there for a year or more, get a job, assimilate myself into their culture, and become fluent in the language.
18. What three things are always in your refrigerator?
Olives, ketchup, and shredded cheese
19. What is your favorite group/artist? Musical genre (pop, country, Christian contemporary, etc)?
I don’t know about all time favorite, but definitely one of my favorite bands is Zoos of Berlin. J
20. What do you think people believe of you that is not true?
Hmm… I think people think that I don’t have to work hard for my good grades. So not true.
21. What is your favorite beat?
The trainwre- I mean the tick-tock beat. ;)
22. If you were King/Queen of the world, what would you change?
I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t sound cheesy. Honestly, I know I would make a terrible Queen of the world.
23. How do you hope to apply the lessons learned from SR later in life?
Well, the obvious answer is that next year (my first year of college) is going to require a whole lot of Take a Chance, Never Give Up, and Believe in Yourself… and after that…. Well, let’s just say that wherever I go, I’ll be keeping all of our steps quite close.
24. Pick one of the Steps of Success and tell of a time where it has paid off for you.
Doing Whatever it Takes has been getting me through this school year. Going to a school of 750+ people in my graduating class alone is really tough for me. I just wasn’t made to cope with that number of people.
25. What is your favorite Color? Why is it your favorite color?
Almost any variation of green J
26. Do you have a favorite Sport and or a favorite Sports Team?
Softball J I’m a catcher.
27. Who or what has been the biggest Influence in your life?
My mom. She’s taught me to stop worrying about what the world thinks of me and focus only on what God does.
28. Do you like your Personality? Do you wish you were stronger, braver, or bolder? If you like it, why? If you do not like it, what would you change?
Yes, though sometimes I wish I weren’t so shy. And, of course, I wish I were braver. But I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be a Gryffindor.
29. Have you ever stood up for what you believe, even when it was very hard?
Yes, and it really is hard sometimes.
30. What is your favorite subject in school?
English, hands down. Though last semester I took a psychology class and it was honestly the highlight of my day!
31. Are you the person you want to be?
No. I want to be the person God wants me to be, but we all fall short.
32. If you never joined SR, or never heard of SR would you be the same person you are now? Why or why not?
Absolutely not. SR has given me so much! It’s really more than I can put into words, but SR has helped me to get over my shyness to some extent.
33. What are five things that you have in your room that you love?
Awesome question. All of my books (for I am a voracious reader), my small collection of army men, a ceramic knight that my great-grandma painted, two nerf guns (hey, a girl’s got to hold her own against her brother!), and a beautiful turtle lamp which was passed on to me after my grandma died. I always get choked up when I think of it, because one of my cousins collects turtles… and she wanted me to have it.
34. Can you play any other Instrument other than the drums? Do you wish/want to play another instrument? If so, what?
No, though I used to play piano. I really wish I could pick it up again.
35. Do you do the SOS (Steps of Success) daily? How many times do you think you use it in a week?
Constantly! I don’t think I could guess, though I’m constantly pushing myself, especially with Whatever it Takes.
36. What is your favorite movie of all time? Why?
The Sting. I don’t really know why, other than that I could never get bored watching it.
37. What is your favorite television show and/or shows?
Survivor
38. What movie do you want to see really badly but didn’t get the chance to?
Sherlock Holmes. Ah well, I’ll just wait for it to go to the dollar theater. J
39. What is your favorite saying that you say?
Mut und Anmut sind eine beatliche Mischung.
Courage and bravery are a formidable combination. –Marlene Dietrich
40. What's your favorite Step of Success and why?
Take a Chance. It’s the first one. Without a first, we wouldn’t have the second.
41. What are you most proud of about your life?
I don’t know… getting as far as I have in learning German, maybe.
42. What is your favorite theme song?
Massive Attack’s Teardrop for the show House M.D.
43. What is your favorite mission project, and how did it impact you?
Feed my starving children. I’ve done it several times, both with and without SR. It’s just an awesome organization and a really humbling experience.
44. Why did you originally join SR, and what are your reasons for staying?
God gave me a strong desire to join despite the fact that I’d never drummed before and never felt so strongly about something before. I’ve said this before, but I would not have stuck with SR if we weren’t faith-based.
45. If you were all of a sudden out of the group what is one thing you have learned that you would take with you the rest of your life?
That I have a family who cares about me, and who I can now keep in contact with through this blog! And, of course, the steps of success.
46. What makes you, you?
The fact that I’m not willing to compromise who I am or my beliefs for anyone.
47. How is your friendship different with SR friend and non-SR friends? How are people in SR at your site/in the country different than people you go to school and/or work with?
My friendships with SR friends are much more open. I’m able to be myself and talk about things that are really important to me. There are so many people out there who would push you down for openly talking about God in school. Just this morning, someone in my first hour class was cracking jokes about Christians and God. I wasn’t brave enough to turn around and say that I wasn’t okay with it.
48. If you had to move, would you try to stay in contact with Steve and Jordan and your site?
Naturally.
49. If this blog was never created do you think we would be as close as we are now?
Nope. I think this blog has already brought so many people from different sites together and will continue to do so. We’re like a patch-work quilt family!
50. What is your favorite part about the blog?
The people I’m meeting.
51. What other activities/organizations are you involved in?
Softball and National Honors Society.
52. What size drumsticks do you play with?
7A
53. What are the first three things you do when you get home from school/work/traveling?
Shrug off my coat and shoes, discard my backpack, and say hello to a beaming, tail-wagging Tiger.
54. Who do you choose from the Blog Followers to be the NEXT Member of the Week??
Drum roll please… BEN! Or Picasso, whichever he’s going by these days.