When I told friends that I was worried I wouldn’t recognize junior Izzy Anderson when she came into the library for our interview, they assured me that I would. “Curly-ish hair, earbuds in, cool style,” they said.

All three boxes were checked. Izzy entered the library swaying her head side to side, listening to music, her hair falling past her shoulders in waves, her style impeccably cool. She wore a Roy Pablo shirt, cuffed jeans, a teddy bear necklace, dangling planet earrings, and a felt flower pin in her hair.

“She’s nothing short of a colorful whirlwind,” Tessa Boneau, her best friend and former Mason student, said. 

“Do you know Erroll Garner? He has this song called ‘Misty.’ It’s like if music was shiny like water,” Izzy said to me. Within minutes of meeting her, she had given me at least five song and artist recommendations.  

Anyone can gather upon meeting Izzy that she is passionate for art of all kinds. She’s also been learning the guitar and defines her biggest hobby as “listening to music.” In regards to her music taste, she loves melodic tunes, some rap, jazz, lo-fi, as well as artists like Omar Apollo, Boy Pablo, and Vince Guaraldi. She shops at a range of stores and has taken on embroidery to personalize her style. 

She’s a musician herself – Izzy plays lead guitar for her band, Late Night Ramen, which debuted at the Winter JV Show in December.

Izzy is defined by the things she loves. She mentioned film, music, and art throughout our interview. “I just love beautiful places!” she said excitedly. A self-described “mountain person,” she loves the West Coast and has traveled through Wyoming. There, she created her first short film, sparking her love for film.

“My favorite films are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 28 Days Later, Pan’s Labyrinth, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Jaws, and Spirited Away,” she said. 

She is currently in IB HL Film Studies I, which she names as one of her favorite classes along with IB HL History I, which she describes as “a tough class, but really interesting.” 

Evidently, Izzy is interested and passionate about many subjects, although some are unexpected. “I really like public transportation. I think that it should be used more!” she said. 

However, with all of her passions, she has a top priority – environmentalism. “It doesn’t matter where you live, it doesn’t matter who you are, if the world ends, we’re all out of here,” Izzy said. Her passion for respecting the Earth shone through as she explained her belief that “you can’t care about the other issues without caring about the environment.” 

On top of all of that, Izzy is also a dedicated softball player. “It’s a fun sport… we’re like the butt of everyone’s jokes, like ‘oh the Mason softball team’s bad,’ but we’re getting better, we’re trying.” 

Sometimes it can be tough losing, she said. However, through wins and losses, the softball team remains a positive environment through fun-filled traditions, like streaking their eyes black with glitter, and last season, on every ride home from a game, “we’d play ‘Tongue-Tied’ [by Grouplove] on the bus.” 

If she had a free Saturday, Izzy would “go to a bookstore, maybe invite a friend to go to Rare Bird [Coffee House], play the guitar and practice what I’ve been working on… go somewhere with friends where we’ve never been to before.” 

Izzy Anderson is a music lover, a friend to many, and an artist at heart. In her words, “I just like to do art in general. I’m not very good at it, but it’s an outlet.”