I joined Alexa Ruscitto at her office in Manhattan, NY to talk about the benefits of marriage, whether college was actually worth it, and embarrassing Facebook posts.
- A totally real photo of me and Alexa together. I definitely didn’t forget to take a picture of us after our interview and hastily edit this together at the last minute.
Alexa Ruscitto: I’m nervous
Frankie Becerra: You have nothing to be nervous about.
AR: I’m nervous.
FB: I know, but honestly so am I and I’m the one doing it.
AR: (Laughs)
FB: So I’ve got some questions prepared for you, if you don’t mind we’re gonna get right into it. Is that good with you?
AR: I’m ready.
FB: What’s one way you’ve changed since high school?
AR: Ooh, that’s a good question. I feel like I’ve definitely matured and I really don’t think I changed that much. Like I’m still the same personality, I just think my goals have transitioned into goals that are long-term versus like you know when you’re in high school you think about “oh I”m an adult now”. I just don’t ever feel- like now I feel like I’m an adult. Like life is real now, where as high school I was worried about the dumbest stuff and now I’m like ok well this is serious. Not high school. So I think I’m the same person, but I think the mindset of goals and aspirations has changed significantly since high school.
FB: Yeah that makes sense, and as they should.
AR: Oh 100%, I think that what I wanted to do in high school, and like how I thought college was going to be so hard and like college was the end all be all, and then I’m like well I finished college, now what? And then it’s like ok what do I want to do with my life? High school was just like such a part of your life that was so easy that… like I wish I had a mindset of like high school is easy, enjoy it. And now I’m like now I’m working and this is hard (laughs).
FB: Yeah cause that’s the thing, especially at that age, it is hard to kind of wrap your head around the idea that there’s stuff after this.
AR: Oh, yes. I remember like when we were sixteen, the sweet sixteens (birthday parties) were like “oh my goodness, this is it, this is the most important part of your life”, and now I’m like that was not (laughs) it was a good step, but now like each… what I’ve changed is I definitely have compartmentalized so many different things. Like I appreciate the little things versus in high school I thought such little things were such a big deal. Versus now I can handle stress and different things so much better, whereas in high school, I mean we were so young. We’re fourteen years old. I can’t manage the same stress then versus now. So definitely matured, can stress a lot more, and enjoy the little moments more now than in high school.
FB: That’s great, I love that. So what’s something that you’ve accomplished in the last ten years that you’re proud of?
AR: Ooh, that’s a good one. I finished grad school during covid, and I got a job during grad school during covid. I took a leap into that, and I was unsure if that was a good leap, but really happy about that. I moved to the city, huge jump, ya know? Coming from Brewster to the city is like such a big difference and just like living in the city versus Brewster is a huge difference. So those and having a great job, I make impacts in people’s life, and that’s really important. And keeping my friends from high school too, like I’m still best friends with three people that I was friends with then and I’m friends with them now so that’s really great.
FB: That’s awesome, yeah that is great. So what’s something you hope to accomplish in the next ten years?
AR: Ok ten years from now I want a family, hopefully I’ll have a family and potentially move out of New York City… And, I don’t know, I feel like work, like become a CEO of a company, I’ll found my own company maybe. Who knows? I don’t really wanna plan too much ahead because you can’t enjoy the moment, so I’m happy with where I am. I’d love to be a soccer mom. Bring snacks, that’s what I would love to do (laughs).
FB: Ok I could see that, I like that.
AR: I like baking so I’ll bring, I love bringing snacks.
FB: Perfect. I think also we have learned in the last couple of years that even if you plan something, who knows how it’s gonna go.
AR: Literally like you can’t even plan like two years ahead. Like it doesn’t work that way.
FB: Wild. Well since you brought up family I do want to mention that you are married-
AR: Yes
FB: because I really like the way that you did it.
AR: Oh really?
FB: Where you guys just went to city hall, talk about it
AR: Well so, so funny, so my insurance was up in Q4 of last year, and we’re actually having like a full on wedding in October (Editors Note: It’s unclear if this was an invitation, but I’ll keep my calendar open), but my insurance went up, and he works for a big corporation and he was like “why don’t you just come on my insurance? It’s much easier”, so we got married.
FB: Nice.
AR: Yeah. A little unconventional, but it’s ok.
FB: I had a friend in a similar situation where her fiancé or I guess just boyfriend at the time, was a UK citizen but working in the US.
AR: Oh, wow.
FB: And when he proposed to her he said “I really do want to marry you, but can we do it tomorrow just because my visa or whatever is about to expire” and so they did. One of our other friends is an ordained minister and he literally just married them in the backyard, and then similarly they had a wedding like a year and a half later.
AR: Yeah I mean it’s so much easier, you have your taxes as a married couple are significantly better, like your benefits are better, it’s easier and like we’ve been living together for some time now it’s like what’s the difference? Now we just have a party in October, that’s how I look at it.
FB: That’s awesome. So what if anything do you miss most about high school? And it’s ok if the answer is “nothing”
AR: Oh, no, I do miss things about high school. I miss seeing my friends every day, I feel like that’s such a huge part now that my best friend Kelly lives in North Carolina and we used to see each other every day, the weekends, and so we would see each other at least six days a week. I don’t get to do that anymore. Those little things where we get to see each other all the time, whereas now we can’t do that, she lives in a different state. You know, just like silly sleepovers. We have sleepovers now but they’re so serious. It’s no longer like “Oh my god, he texted me! What do I do?” or “Oh my god he didn’t text me back yet”. What’s that weird thing where you pop up on a video call? Omeglay?
FB: Oh, there was Omegle and there was ChatRoulette.
AR: Yes, that! At like a weird time in the hour of the sleepover and you’re like oh my god. Those little simple things I do miss that. And just like playing sports, and having like a strict routine. And like those pivotal moments like learning to drive and things like that. And honestly, it’s so weird like I don’t remember our teachers, I don’t remember classes, but I just remember like the memories of things, you know what I mean? Like we had math class together.
FB: We did.
AR: Was it trig?
FB: I know we definitely had algebra together in ninth grade with Mrs. Pappas.
AR: Oh Mrs. Pappas, I like Mrs. Pappas.
FB: Yeah me too.
AR: Those are the things I miss, so I do miss high school.
FB: Nice. Ok, so do you think that you left high school prepared for the next phase of your life?
AR: Absolutely not. I don’t think college prepared people… I don’t think anything will really prepare you, I think just real life experiences prepare you. I have to say, college didn’t really prepare me, grad school did because I learned how to write better, how to handle different situations better, definitely more critical thinking, things like that versus like high school I feel like, what did it really do? So that’s my thought process, I don’t think anything will really prepare you until you have real life experiences.
FB: I’m glad you mentioned that college didn’t really do that much for you because I definitely feel the same way. I remember being a couple of months out of college and applying for a lot of jobs because I had just spent all this money on a degree, might as well use it for something, and at the time and even for a while really wasn’t able to find anything in my field. I was up late one night just really freaking out and I remember getting to a point where I wrote down every single class I took in college and trying to be like what did I actually learn from any of these? And the results were not exactly inspiring.
AR: I know!
FB: It was a lot of, like you said, it was a lot of writing and critical thinking more, but it’s like to get that from the same 30 classes, what did you really do?
AR: I know, except party.
FB: That’s the thing, I didn’t even party that much.
AR: What? Frankie!
FB: I know, you’re telling me. I didn’t even have fun, I messed up.
AR: That was the time to not get a hangover. Now you drink and you get a hangover for like seven days (laughs)
FB: Well if you could change one thing about your time in high school knowing what you know now, what you would you change?
AR: Hmm
FB: If anything.
AR: I really don’t even remember… I used to cry over boys a lot. I would change that because like what is that even? And girls. There were mean girls. I used to cry over mean girls and stupid boys. I would definitely change that. To not cry or lose an ounce of sleep over that. Other than that I wouldn’t change anything. I had, overall, a good experience… from what I remember, that’s my main takeaway (laughs).
FB: So as a member of the Class of 2013, do you have any advice for the current seniors, the Class of 2023, as they enter this next phase of their lives?
AR: Oh my god, that’s so scary. Yeah, I definitely think enjoy the moment. I think graduating high school is a huge thing, but it’s not the end-all-be-all. You have your whole future ahead of you. This is just a milestone… Like yeah, the classes you took in high school were “important”, but when have we ever had to justify a triangle or a square in our career? Unless they’re going into finance, which I don’t think they use any of those… So with that being said, I think just enjoy graduation, and make sure you pick the right school for you if you haven’t already. I never went too far from home because I didn’t want to, and that was a great decision because I wanted to stay close to my family. Just like enjoy every single part and you will figure it out, regardless of if it’s right now, but like you are seventeen, you have the rest of your life to figure out what you want to do. So don’t be too hard on yourself, and you will get to where you need to be when the time is right.
FB: Nice, I like that.
AR: That’s my advice.
FB: So speaking of the Class of 2023, do you think you would rather be a high schooler right now, or the early 2010’s when we were there?
AR: Oh my god, then. I could not imagine being in high school right now.
FB: Yeah?
AR: I would actually lose my mind.
FB: You think so?
AR: With the social media and like TikTok and things like that, I couldn’t do it. I think we had such a good time, that’s my perspective. I had a great time with what I had then versus now, I couldn’t do it.
FB: And that too it’s not even like we didn’t have social media, it was just so much more basic-
AR: Yeah we had Facebook.
FB: and rudimentary compared to what they have now. Like you said, Facebook was like the main thing back then. Then Twitter and Instagram jumped in there right at the end and there was kind of this sense that Facebook was the online community.
AR: Yeah Instagram came out our first year of college.
FB: Ok.
AR: And I remember Facebook because I’ll have my memories of like “Truth is? :)” like why did I do this? (laughs)
FB: I genuinely still love checking my Facebook memories because they are constantly hilarious.
AR: Me too! Oh my god so funny.
FB: It’s so stupid.
AR: It’s so stupid.
FB: Like the things that we deemed worthy of making an entire Facebook status.
AR: I know, and I have had to delete a bunch when I’m like this can comeback and bite me (laughs)
FB: A lot of language was not scrutinized back then as it is today, and for the best when I think about the things that we were throwing around on people’s walls back then. I actually remember recently, I say recently, it was like 2019. I was opening for a comic in Albany, and I drove her up there. And on the way back, she had recently gotten into trouble for something she said on Twitter, and I mentioned to her that if you search your Twitter handle and any word, it will show all of the tweets that you’ve posted with that word, and any tweet that mentions you and that word. Because I remember myself being concerned about that, and so I did that with any word I was worried about, and I was very proud of myself to see that almost nothing needed to be taken down with what I searched, but I do think she, by the end of the car ride, had probably read through or deleted around 200 tweets
AR: Oh yeah, I think at that point you should probably just delete your Twitter (laughs).
FB: That’s the thing unfortunately in the comedy game with the social media aspect of things you gotta be out there.
AR: That’s crazy.
FB: So coming to the end here, one thing that our high school never did was senior quotes. Do you have one that you would have used then, or one that you like now?
AR: Umm… I used to love “Everything happens for a reason”, but I think my favorite one that I like to say is “Be like a duck and let water go off your back”.
FB: Oh I like that a lot.
AR: Mhm.
FB: I like ducks a lot too.
AR: What?
FB: I like ducks
AR: (Laughs) Be like a duck and just let water go off your back because (if you don’t) then you’re just gonna be hung up on the small stuff that doesn’t matter. In high school I probably would’ve picked “Everything happens for a reason xoxo”, but now today, ten years later, we have matured into “Be like a duck and let water go off your back”
FB: I love that, you’ve grown up into a beautiful duck.
AR: (Laughs) Hopefully a swan.
FB: That’ll be next time, ten years from now.
AR: Next time I’ll evolve.
FB: We’ll be in our swan era.
AR: I’ll have to find a quote for that.
FB: So now do you have any questions you want to ask me?
AR: Yeah, what was your favorite time in high school?
FB: My favorite time in high school… Junior year I took a class called Digital Video Production
AR: Is that with, um
FB: With my close personal friend Janet Tallevi, love her.
AR: She left though
FB: What’s that?
AR: She left.
FB: No she’s still there.
AR: Oh really?
FB: Yeah. And it was the only art class I took in high school despite the fact that you needed to take I think two other art classes before taking this one. I just kind of asked nicely and they let me take it.
AR: Nice.
FB: And it was so much fun. I still credit that class to pretty much every video I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a few since then.
AR: That’s amazing.
FB: It was really just the basics of iMovie which is the most basic movie editing software.
AR: It looks hard.
FB: It is. Like, once you get into it iMovie is like the piano. I remember once a musician telling me that the piano is the easiest instrument to learn but the hardest one to master, (Editor’s Note: iMovie isn’t actually that hard. Mastering the piano is almost definitely harder).
AR: Yeah
FB: And I feel like that’s kind of similar to iMovie to an extent, because I have obviously stepped up my game since I was seventeen and taking this class junior year, but I also think back, like that was really the first time I got into, aside from making stupid YouTube videos in like middle school and stuff when we were first able to do that, that was when I really was able to kind of come into my own creatively and I’ve since like directed music videos for people. Ms. Tallevi also wrote my college recommendation letter and so I credit that to being the only reason I got into college where I went.
AR: Didn’t you go to Manhattan?
FB: I did.
AR: Yeah, that’s a great school. My sister went there, I love Manhattan.
FB: Thank you. But yeah I think that class was definitely a highlight for me. A lot of my friends were in that class too, so It was nice to kind of goof around for them for an A at the end of the day.
AR: And what would your senior quote be? Then and now.
FB: So I actually had a quote picked out back then because in my mind I, for some reason, thought that just out of nowhere they were just going to ask us to do it. So I was like I want to be ready for anything. I was always very prepared for things that never happened.
AR: I love that.
FB: So this was one of them. My quote that, and I still would roll with this one to this day, “A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do” from Tommy Pickles from Rugrats.
AR: Love that.
FB: I think it is, as basic as it sounds, I think it is that you really just gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, and I don’t even mean that on a level of getting a job and going to college and all that “big” stuff. I mean sometimes you just gotta get out of bed, and it’s gonna be hard. And that’s normal, and people don’t really talk about that or tell you that it’s gonna be hard to just get out of bed sometimes, but sometimes that’s just what you gotta do and just keep moving forward, ya know?
AR: Is that your quote now?
FB: I think that is still the quote I would use.
AR: What are, I feel like I know, your ten year goals?
FB: So I think those have changed a lot recently for me. Next week I actually start grad school.
AR: (Gasps) Congratulations! Amazing.
FB: Thank you, I’m going into a school counseling program to become a high school guidance counselor.
AR: (Gasps) I love that. Amazing.
FB: And that is, it was like a real sharp left turn career-wise for me. I just kind of out of nowhere, literally just this past February, started thinking about it, and then just applied, got in, and I guess this is what I’m doing now.
AR: Amazing.
FB: But other than that, if anything starts to go well in comedy I will fully abandon that-
AR: Oh
FB: and I will instead chase fame and fortune and say the kids can figure it out for themselves.
AR: Or you could make them laugh while giving them advice and helping them get into school.
FB: Yeah so we’ve got options.
AR: Yeah, exactly you can even do two at the same time. Make double the money, you gotta think.
FB: So I guess to answer the question of goals for the next ten years, just be a little more comfortable with what I’m doing and secure in what I’m doing and you know just kind of have a little more figured out I guess.
AR: We’re so young, you don’t need to have it figured out. Life is so long. If you think about it, life is so long. We graduated high school ten years ago. That’s only ten years. Like it’s a decade, but that felt so long ago. So many things have happened from 2013 to now and it’s insane.
FB: And that’s something that we don’t even really get the opportunity to put that in perspective at that age because when you’re eighteen, or even just to bumped it up to round the numbers up, when you’re twenty, ten years is half of your life. But when you’re thirty, it’s only a third of your life. So when you break it down like that, it’s like you said we do have so much more to go. Hopefully, knock on wood.
AR: (Laughs) Knock on wood, I know.
FB: But it is one of those things where it’s like you’re not even able to put it in perspective yet, so that is kind of another thing we’ve gained with age is perspective.
AR: Exactly, I know, that is true. That is true. But yeah, time goes by and it’s crazy.
FB: It is.
AR: I can’t believe we’re almost 30.
FB: I know, wild.
AR: I don’t know where time has gone, but it felt long.
FB: Yeah.
AR: I don’t know where time has gone, but I feel like it went by so frickin fast. Like I remember graduating, your speech at high school graduation, you took a selfie.
FB: I did.
AR: Is your Facebook profile picture still the same picture?
FB: It’s not still the same picture, no.
AR: Ok great I’m glad.
FB: Yes, I replaced it with a picture of me graduating from college when that happened, and I think it has since been switched to a picture of me doing standup.
AR: Oh, love that.
FB: I mean I’m not doing too much on Facebook these days.
AR: You mean you aren’t posting for your mom? Your mom’s not tagging you in things?
FB: Yes, she’s still tagging me in things but I am not contributing to Facebook.
AR: (Laughs) We need it, I think Facebook is where it’s at.
FB: Yeah? Is that your bold prediction for the next couple of years, Facebook makes a big comeback?
AR: No I think Facebook’s gonna die, I think TikTok is gonna make like a whole, another Instagram type of thing. TikTok+ or something. I think Instagram is gonna go too.
FB: Yeah I already feel like Instagram’s been dying out, and I’m not just saying that because nobody likes my stuff on there.
AR: Oh yeah I get like two likes and I’m like ok well that’s that. Not that I care.
FB: No, of course.
AR: But for people that live for likes or make money off of it, they’re screwed. Well this was fun.
FB: Thank you.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)
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