This is also your introduction to your French-speaking character Zia. In what way is it different from K.Zia, your English-speaking character?
I think Zia is more fierce and more street in the energy. While K.Zia is more like, “This is who I am, I’d like you to respect that.” Zia is definitely more, “This is who I am, fuck you if you don’t get it.” These are the main differences I’d say. K.Zia is more touching, about togetherness, and being accepting. Whereas Zia is definitely about freedom and living unapologetically. The values are low-key the same but are just expressed differently.
It’s not a random thing. I grew up speaking French and English. I went to an English private school and that means you’re surrounded by a certain type of people with a specific lifestyle. I went to middle school and high school in France, which are also different types of people. That’s also why I’m expressing myself more ‘private school’ in English, whereas my French is more street because I was surrounded by people with another background.
Speaking and writing only in English about certain subjects is totally me, but I felt like a part of me wasn’t expressing itself. I had conversations with my mom saying that there’s a fire in me she didn’t see as much. I’m not pretending to be someone else, that’s just what comes out when I write. Then I realized there’s a different energy when I write in French, which made her say: “Aha, there you are! This cheeky little one that was talking back when you were little.”