INTERVIEW WITH THE 134TH ANNUAL ROSE PARADE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD
On New Year's Eve, I got to speak with one of the members of the 2023 Rose Court, this year's Rose Queen, Bella Ballard. The seventeen-year-old hails from Altadena, and is a Soccer extraordinaire, as she not only plays the sport with several clubs, she is a volunteer soccer coach with Chelsea Football Club. A senior at the distance learning school, The Ogburn School, Bella also enjoys collecting vinyl records, chess, astrophysics, and volunteering. It's these myriad talents, smarts, and extra-curricular activities which Bella and the rest of the young women chosen for the 134th Rose Court exemplify. In my interview below, we chatted about her life as the 134th Rose Queen, her journey to the court, her life growing up in Altadena (which happens to be my hometown as well), and her life post-Rose Court.
This interview has edited for clarity.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: First, congrats to you, Queen Bella, and thanks for taking the time. To start can you talk some about your journey to the Rose Court and ultimately Rose Queen? Was this something that you always wanted to do and be?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: So, my journey started out as my family is from Altadena, so I’m a huge fan of the Tournament Of Roses and the Rose Parade which I watch every year. I thought why not try out that’s how my journey started, I went through the interview process, and eventually, I was selected to become a member of the Royal Court. That was an amazing day and it just started a lifetime of amazing opportunities. A couple of weeks later I was selected to become the 2023 Rose Queen, so it was probably one of the highlights of my life and definitely high school.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: So, you’re one of two on the court that's from Altadena (I'm from there as well). What has been your favorite thing about growing up in such a relatively small town like Altadena?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: My dad grew up in Altadena as well, so I’m really a third-generation Altadena resident. It's really just a sense of community and just home that Altadena feels like to me. I grew up there, my Dad grew up there, and my Grandparents moved here a long time ago. Altadena is such a special place, and it's the perfect place for me.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Yeah, I would, I would say the same thing as well. You kind of get that feeling of a small town meets a big city as well since it’s so close to many other things.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah. All my neighbors were so ecstatic when I was selected to be queen. They sent over flowers, I mean, they're all supportive. My family is more than supportive, so it really is the community.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: It’s really great to have that experience, particularly growing up.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yes. Definitely!
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: How has this experience helped you grow as a person and young woman? What has this experience helped you discover about yourself?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: This experience with Tournament Of Roses is so unique and so special. We all get media training and speech training, etiquette training even. It’s such a unique experience and all the members of the Royal Court come from such diverse backgrounds. We all have such intellectual curiosity, and we have dreams and goals. So we come together in such a unique way that we can really balance each other out.
I think learning how to deal with so many interviews and so many events and then meeting new people. That's something that I think is really special about the Tournament Of Roses and being a member of the Royal Court.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: What appearance that you’ve done has been either your favorite or has stuck out the most to you so far?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: We've attended a wide range of events. I think one of the ones that stood out to me the most was it was early on was on Halloween, we all dressed up as our Harry Potter houses and we went to Huntington Hospital. We gotta visit a couple kids there and hand out candy in little goody bags and just kind of make their day a little better, and take photos with them and greet them. Just do whatever we could at the moment to make their Halloween a little more special.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Can I ask what Harry Potter House were you?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I was in Gryffindor. I’m a Gryffindor.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Okay, cool.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: What advice would you give to another young girl who would want to kind of go on the same type of journey?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I would have to say there's not one path to success. I mean, as an online student with a passion, for soccer and astrophysics, and economics. That there's not one path to, quote-unquote, success. Being the Rose Queen is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility that has opened so many new doors for me that I can't wait to experience. That path there was so winding and so chaotic. I mean, a year ago today, if you told me I would have been the 2023 Rose Queen. I would have probably called your bluff and never believed you. So, I just think that there's not one path to success and everyone's journey is a little different.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: You mentioned that your doing online schooling. I did homeschooling as well when I was younger. I’m curious to know how you think that experience either helped or hampered your experience as Rose Queen?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Online school has always offered me flexibility, Especially since I play soccer and with all the traveling doing that. That has kind of continued that amount of flexibility into my duties as the Rose Queen. So, I do have a little bit more flexible time and a little bit more time management. I can talk to my teachers and just let them know what's happening. I don't envy the other girls in their traditional schooling ways.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: You're big into sports, particularly soccer can talk some about that? What are your goals with the sport?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, I've been playing soccer basically my entire life. My mom played Division One soccer at LMU. My dad plays soccer and was coaching. He played a whole bunch of sports, so we're really a sports family. So I got into soccer because I loved it and I still do. My goal, and it's still my goal, is to play professional soccer, either in the US or in Europe. It's one of my biggest dreams, and also to play Division One soccer in college. So I've been playing soccer my whole life. I've traveled to different countries including moving to Michigan to play soccer. So, soccer is a big part of who I am, and it's really helped me along this journey.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: At the end, since you mentioned that it's really helped you along this journey, is there any kind of specifics that you can get into that you would say that has helped you along and will continue to help you along?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, I think soccer is such a unique sport, and I think my dad and mom have always taught me that if you don't love it, just don't do it. So, I think my passion for pretty much everything in academics and athletics, has carried over into other aspects of my life. For soccer, I've done a couple interviews, I've been on the news, and I've done youtube videos. So that interview aspect has continued over to being the Rose Queen. Um, and soccer is such a hard sport to play, so I think that my discipline and time management skills going into playing soccer have also transitioned into this.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Are there any kind of specific goals that you want to accomplish as we go into the new year?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yes, I'm excited for 2023. I can't wait to start college, to finish up my duties on the Royal Court to really get on to the community, to continue to help people, to continue my passion for soccer, and hopefully, continue to place for professional soccer this summer. Helping my sister play tennis, she’s a tennis athlete, learning how to drive. That's a big one. Yeah. I think 2023 is gonna be a great year.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Are you a little bit nervous about the Rose Parade and your ride on Monday? I just want to kind of want to get your mindset?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, I mean, I'm extremely excited. I just can't wait to, you know, it's the big day. It's what we've kind of been talking about, and looking forward to this entire time. So I'm more excited than anything. I'm also a little sad that this whole journey is coming to a slow end, but I know we have a couple of events scattered throughout the new year in 2023. So, it's not over yet, but I'm just looking forward to parade day, the game. I can't wait for that and just, you know, finally turning the corner.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Since you mentioned turning the corner what does the turning the corner theme mean to you? And how will you choose to embody that theme as we go forward into the new year?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, I mean, to me, turning the corner represents the strength and resilience through tough times that can be shown through academics, athletics, personal life, even through Covid I think embodying that symbol of turning the corner, just to get past it and to better yourselves through opportunities new experiences and just new ways to grow.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Is there anybody I guess in your personal life, or just anybody that you know of that specifically embodies this theme of ‘turning the corner’ best?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I would have to say, my younger sister, Samantha, I think she really embodies the theme ‘turning the corner’. Through her strength, her creativity, her ambitions in tennis and academics. I think she embodies the theme.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I want to ask you some questions about pop culture and music because I did read that you had a big collection of vinyl and a retro record player.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I-I love vinyl.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: So I wanted to ask you what your favorite vinyl is from your collection, and if you and the rest of the Rose Court listened to any kind of music during your journey? Or if you guys had any playlists?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Well, I think it's so hard to take a favorite record. I think most recently I've been listening to The Weeknd, Taylor Swift. I have a couple of Beatles albums. I have a Fleetwood Mac album. For Christmas, I just got a Lady Lady Gaga album from my sister. As a court, I think we don't really listen to too much music as a court because we're kind of struggling with college apps at the moment, but when we do put something on it's usually more upbeat for fun. We like to listen to Katy Perry, and sometimes Harry Styles. So yeah, I think we have a wide range of music tastes in this group. We like to mess around with each other and play interesting song choices.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Which Harry Styles album?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: His most recent one, I forget what it's called. Harry House. That one!
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Do you have a specific memory from this experience that sticks out to you most or that you treasure more?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: The day of the coronation, before I was crowned we were kind of all getting ready in the tournament house. We had our interview suits on, and I think all of us were just in the moment. We were so ecstatic about what was gonna happen. We were so nervous, jumping up and down, and just that moment of calmness before like, the storm. So, I think we were soaking it all in when we were all princesses, and we all had on the green dress. I think that was the moment that kind of sticks out to me.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: What three words would you use to describe your experience overall on the Rose Court and as Rose Queen?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Wow. I would have to say. Unique. I think it's a perfect word for that. Another word is Best Friends. Because you're gonna gain six new best friends that will last a lifetime and the third one would have to be ‘Memorable’.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Is there anything that you are most looking forward to when you're riding the float or will you just be taking it all it?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I would have to say with this year’s theme ‘turning the corner’ that moment when we turn the corner from Orange Grove to Colorado it's gonna be so special. That's probably the moment I think we're all looking forward to the most. All our family's gonna be there in the grandstands. Um, That's kind of the first moment of this is actually happening. So, I'm most looking forward to that.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I read that you were named after both of your great-grandmothers. I just wanted to know more about that. I thought that was really nice and sweet.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, so my great-grandmother on my dad's side Rose. So, I got my middle name from her and Yaeko is a middle name passed down through my mom, who has that middle name, and my great-grandmother on my mom's side also has that middle name. So, it’s kind of special because Rose as in obviously Rose and Yaeko means kind of like a bouquet of flowers in Japanese.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Wow, there are a lot of things that seem fitting and quite serendipitous in you becoming the Rose Queen. That's very, very interesting.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: And here's a fun fact. So we all have numbers, and they don't have your names or know anything about us, and I was number 134. Obviously, this year's parade is the 134 year.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Oh, wow, that’s insane….
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: I know.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Well, my middle name is Rose too. I'm named after my grandmother actually.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Wow, that's so special.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: So, yeah, I also find that a big thing with the Rose Parade is tradition and as I was reading your bio and all of that. I noticed that you and your family seem like they're really into traditions and things. Are there going to be any new traditions that your family has now added with you being Rose Queen or anything?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Oh man, I don't think anything has been added but we have a tradition in the new for the new year with my mom’s side of the family, my Japanese side of the family. Where we all roll sushi and eat soba noodles to kind of bring in the New Year with good luck and good fortune. And of course, when we roll sushi we watch the Rose Parade. So I think the rolling of the sushi will be postponed just a little bit, but that's kind of our New year's tradition that involves the Rose Parade. But I think this year is gonna be so much more special because they're obviously gonna be in California and watching me on a float.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: As I was trying to prep for this interview. I also noticed how multicultural and diverse this year’s Rose Court felt and how it truly hit upon the themes mentioned in ‘Turning The Corner’. I just want to kind of get your thoughts on that.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: Yeah, I think we're such a diverse court through and through. Yes, with ethnicity we are diverse in that aspect but also our interests, our hobbies and our passions for the future are also so diverse because we are all so different. We come from such different backgrounds. But I think it's so special that way as we’re able to bond so quickly.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I just kind of wanted to end it on Is there anything that I forgot to ask you, or what's next on the horizon for you?
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: No. I don't think I have anything else.
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Other than that, congrats on being the Rose Queen. Ah, I hope you have a really fantastic time on parade day. I can't wait to see you on your float going by. I'm gonna be there.
ROSE QUEEN BELLA BALLARD: That’s amazing! Well, I'll make sure to it wave your way then. And Happy New Year!
THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: Happy New Year!
