By Sky Pinkett
Features Editor
As shift leader for Blazin’ J’s, a popular chicken spot on Campus Town, Anne Santostefano interacts with an abundance of people on a day-to-day basis. For many workers in the service industry, this is a negative aspect of their jobs. But for Santostefano, everyone she encounters has a story just waiting to be told.
“I feel regular everyday people are very interesting, even more so than celebrities.” she said. “I mean, celebrities have their certain charms that we follow. But regular, everyday people, to me, have so much to say but nobody ever hears it. So I’m here to change that.”
With this goal in mind, Santostefano started her own online series called “It’s Your Time to Shine,” where she finds everyday people and interviews them about anything and everything: from hidden talents to future dreams, to life stories and deepest fears.
“I love to hear what people have to say,” Santostefano said. “I want to know their dreams, their goals, what scares them, what message they would have to say to the world.”
The endeavor has been years in the making, over several places and time periods in Santostefano’s life.
“It's over 10 years ago that I started it,” she said. “I was actually still living in New York when the idea came to me and I kind of started to interview some people, but a lot of people shied away from it and I couldn't really complete it with them. I was still developing it myself. And then when I got to New Jersey, it seemed like I met a lot of people who were willing to do it.”
Santostefano learned how to do all the filming, editing, uploading and marketing herself.
“The one good thing that came out of the pandemic was that I had time,” she said. “That's when I learned how to edit my own videos. I took [an online] course and then I started using iMovie, which works really well. I was so happy when I learned to do it myself.”
With her newfound editing skills paired with a passion for her project, Santostefano had everything she needed to carry out her plans. The only thing left to do was find people to interview.
“I used to work at Quick Check and I had an opportunity to talk to a lot of people there,” she said. “My first interview was a Lyft driver.”
Reflecting on the channel’s humble beginnings and very first interviewee, Santostefano expressed the perfect timing of her first interview.
“Oh, I'm telling you, it was like the universe just handpicked us for each other,” she said excitedly. “[The Lyft driver] started when I got in the car. I sat in there and she's like, ‘Do you mind if I tell you about something, like a concept that I've come up with? Because it's geared at women and self-love.’ I said, absolutely, tell me all about it.”
“And so she started telling me about it. I said, you know, I have a YouTube channel that I'm starting and you would be perfect to talk about this concept. I think it's something people should hear about.” Santostefano continued. “And she was my first. And then it was, like, trial and error.”
So began “It’s Your Time to Shine.” From there, Santostefano continued to interview everyday people she would organically meet in unlikely places. From the daughter of a woman who sold Santostefano a laptop, to the landlord of a place she considered renting, to a customer she met at Blazin’ J’s.
“He was a real character.” Santostefano said of the Blazin’ J’s customer. “And he wanted me to video his food and come up with some funny little skit. And so I just jumped right into it. And I was like, you know what? You would be great for my channel.”
Over the years, Santostefano has had a diverse group of people to interview. From a 14-year-old who shared her talent for dancing and acting, to a 70-year-old who reflected on her time in the 60s and 70s hippie movement.
“One of my interviews, a guy from Pastadoro, he plays guitar and he was also training to be a therapist at the time.” she said. “So we made for a pretty intriguing interview. I did it right out in the courtyard back there.” Santostefano gestured to the courtyard in the middle of Campus Town.
Many of the folks Santostefano has been able to interview have been able to share a unique fact about their life or a fun talent that they possess. Nevertheless, Santostefano stresses the importance of normalcy.
“Not everybody has to have a super interesting life,” she said. “Because to me, everybody's life is interesting. Everybody matters. Everybody has something to share. Everybody has something that might inspire somebody else or maybe help them feel seen or recognized. Like, hey, I feel that too. I'm not the only one this happened to.”
The questions Santostefano tends to ask in her interviews reflects this commitment to normal, everyday life.
“I give them an outline of questions and I say, do you want to answer this question? None of it's exploitative and I’m never invasive,” she said. “It's just, what is your dream job? Do you have a special goal? If people have a talent then I ask them if they want me to video it; like if they can play an instrument or sing or even juggle or twiddle their fingers or whatever.”
In reflecting on the future of her channel, Santostefano discussed her plans to evolve while not compromising the humanity of the series.
“I've added some [YouTube] shorts because they pressure you to do shorts, and I put some of them on Instagram. I’m trying to, you know, keep up with the algorithms.” she said. “And I didn't even know anything about monetization. But I never wanna make it where I am compromising what I value about it for clicks. I'm not gonna put misleading headlines… I would rather miss some views and have my integrity than just start becoming like everybody else.”
Santostefano’s series is up on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and she's always searching for willing interview participants. Interested individuals can contact her at info@anneseyeview.com.
“It's from a place of love. It's like, I love people and I feel like a lot of it also helps create unity.” she said. “See how much we are alike instead of how much we may be different. It's not about what divides us, but what makes us all human and the same.”
