Itsincrediblyredacted fromScammer, Calloway tells Bustle of her life at her high school at age 14, circa 2003.
I was so deeply bullied there, and it just made me truly the worst version of myself.
I had a million journals that were started and never finished.
And so what if she struggled to channel this penchant for letters into her school assignments?
Now, however, she sees it as a superpower.
Using those skills later on would be what brought me to my first wave of viral internet fame.
Along with all the other good, bad, and ugly waves that were to come.
Take me back to 2005, when you were 14.
How were you feeling about life?
But I also didnt know enough about how to fit in to hide it.
But the answer is it could, and it stuck.
Were you ultimately able to make friends at the school?
Well, one of the most embarrassing things happened to me when I was 14.
Email was really big at the school, and people would use it almost like Instant Messenger.
How aware were you at the time that things werent normal?
It was more like the little things that I would notice at boarding school.
For example, something that blew my mind were people’s T-shirt collections.
I felt like a first-generation immigrant to having friends.
InScammeryou detail your love for pulpy books.
What were you reading at the time?
First and foremost,Artemis Fowl.
I really loved theEnders Shadowseries, which is more like sci-fi.
Im just getting intoPercy Jacksonnow as a 31-year-old.
My 14-year-old self wouldve lovedPercy Jackson.
What were you like in English class?
It was very hard for teachers to like me, because I was always late to class.
I often didnt finish assignments or turn them in on time.
The confidence in my own English abilities was off the charts.
Where does that undercurrent of confidence come from?
Its less confidence, and I would describe it more as a sense of purpose.
What would your 14-year-old self think about how your life turned out?
Well, it depends.
But turned out in 2023?
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onSep.
