An Interview

with Jillian Rees

jillianress

Jillian Rees

Communication Design Major Class of 2023

An interview on her life around the world

[ OLUSCHI ]:
What is your nationality and place of birth?
[ JILLIAN ]:
I was born in Nassau, in the Bahamas but I consider myself to be half American (My Dad’s nationality) and half Filipino (My Mom’s nationality). I have had an American passport and citizenship my whole life thus far, but have only just started living in the States these past two years!
[ OLUSCHI ]:
What are some of the places you lived and/or traveled to?
[ JILLIAN ]:
Ok, this is going to be a bit of a doozy. For me, places I lived in, and places I’ve travelled to, are two very separate entities even though a lot of the time, the places I lived in dictated where I travelled to, and vice versa. Besides Nassau, my family and I lived in Beijing, China, then a few months in Cebu, Philippines (where my brother, Jackson, was born) after my Dad found out about the SARS outbreak while on a business trip (censorship in China prevented residents and citizens from getting any news about it), then we moved to Osaka, Japan, then Macau (its an hour away from Hong Kong by ferry), then Bali, Indonesia, then we transitioned to living in the Middle East, starting with Beirut, Lebanon then ending in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Now, my family made the decision to head to the States after my Dad got an offer to work in Orlando, Florida. In between all these homes, we visited the States every once in a while, particularly New York City, where my parents met and lived in before starting a family. Occasionally Florida or Colorado or Vegas to visit relatives, both from my Mom’s and Dad’s sides. The cool part about both my parents having worked in the hospitality industry for decades is that our summer vacations were always different. I remember travelling around the places we lived in, exploring our new home, but also getting away and going from, for example, tropical jungles to sand dunes to snowy mountains! .
[ OLUSCHI ]:
How has living in these places impacted your views, identity, and self-expression?
[ JILLIAN ]:
For the longest time, I was very confused about my identity because it was very rare that I met someone who understood that my journey as an expat kid was not something I shared to be pretentious or anything selfish like that. It got to the point where I would deliberately find ways to condense my life into a few words just so I could fit in with the kids whose lives I never, and will ever, understand. Thankfully all the schools I went to over the years were international, which meant I was always surrounded by classmates who came from all over the world and were more open-minded.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
Out of all the places you lived, which one do you see yourself traveling back to?
[ JILLIAN ]:
Bali for sure! My brother and I were so lucky, we lived in the resort my Dad worked at and had free reign over the pools, beaches, and restaurants! Whenever we got out of the resort, the locals we interacted with were always so nice and welcoming, and genuinely loved introducing us to their culture. I still remember the first time I was invited to go to a Balinese temple, to witness the local townspeople say prayer and bring offerings to the gods. The whole ceremony, and the community it represented, really showed me the power of spirituality and religion.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
Which place/s would you never go back too?
[ JILLIAN ]:
I don’t think there is any place I would never not want to go back and visit. Like people, no place is perfect. But I’ve stopped looking for the ‘perfect’ place for a long time now, since my idea of home became so fluid and mainly revolved around my friends and family.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
What are some things from each location that hold sentimental value to you? ( whether it's a physical item, place, or memory.
[ JILLIAN ]:
If I relayed all the things and people and places that I believed held sentimental value, I’m pretty sure we would be here for ages and I would bore you out of your mind! However, I will say that it was the people I met and surrounded myself with while abroad that I hold near and dear to my heart. Most things are replaceable, people are not.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
How has your art been influenced by these places?
[ JILLIAN ]:
Weirdly, having the places I grew up in be such a fundamental part of who I am has kind of deterred me from having it be an explicit part of my art or design work. With that being said, these places, and the lessons they have imparted on me, will forever influence my practice, and I tend to acknowledge this subtly and implicitly as opposed to spilling my guts out. I’m not saying there’s something wrong with that latter approach, I have tons of respect for artists who are confident to have their whole life story - good and bad - play out in their work, I just tend to be a more private person.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
Why did you choose to move to New York for your college experience?
[ JILLIAN ]:
Like I mentioned previously, New York was one of the few States I visited frequently so there was already history there. Also, my parents both worked and met in the city, and always talked about their two very different New York experiences in ways that made me feel like I was there with each of them. So when it came time to narrow down which part of the US I would want to go to college in, New York immediately came to mind.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
Where are you located now and what are your feelings about living there during this time?
[ JILLIAN ]:
I am currently located in Orlando, Florida in my family’s new house in a TV-All-American-Style neighborhood called John’s Lake point in Winter Garden. My feelings about living here? They’re confusing. Sometimes I feel overwhelmingly grateful for the health and safety of me and my family, especially when I personally know so many others are in devastating situations because of the consequences of the outbreak. On the flip side, I’m super frustrated that I personally can’t do anything to end this horrific period in world history besides quarantine, wear face-masks, and limit human contact. I am also super pissed off at inconsiderate people, here in particular, who just don’t seem to understand the extent of the virus, and how its existence is not some political debate but rather a global issue that should be taken seriously. Thank god my Mom got me into Crossfit and Running, or else I would eventually lose my mind.
[ OLUSCHI ]:
What are some places you see yourself traveling too once things are safe and/or in the future?
[ JILLIAN ]:
Hopefully, If things die down by the beginning of 2021 and Trump is no longer a ‘president’ then I would definitely return to the city, resume apartment hunting with potential roommates, and essentially try to resume my life as a college student before COVID-19. That’s the practical and realistic answer, but if It was safe and I could travel anywhere? I would head to South-East Asia, and probably stop by Singapore and hang with some friends there and then kind of hop from one place to the other, either as to experience something new or revisit something familiar. I would definitely eat good, that’s for sure! Unlimited Sushi and Bubble Tea would be ideal.