10 Questions with Neighbor Becci

This past winter, one of my friends sent me a hilarious post from this Instagram account I had never come across called @neighbourbecci. It took me a minute, but eventually I put together that @neighbourbecci was actually Becci, my good friend IRL. I was delighted to discover that her account had over 20 000 followers (It is now close to 30 000!) Delighted, but not really surprised, because Becci has always been a gem. When I asked her about this gigantically popular account she had never mentioned, she just shrugged. Classic Becci.

Since then, I have been sent so many more of her posts from friends in all different parts of my life. She is universally beloved. Equal parts absurdity and smarts, she is unabashedly herself at all times. Our conversations have always zipped at break-neck speed from snack foods, to social justice, to obscure 90’s sitcoms, to parenting, to romance literature, and reading her posts feels exactly like talking to her in person. To follow @neighbourbecci is to feel seen.

1. Why Neighbour Becci? What’s the story there? What inspired you to start this account? Has your motivation changed as your following has grown? What do you hope to achieve?

Becci: I do have a private account, but my friend Sarah has a really big Instagram account and would always tag me as "Neighbour Becci." I was getting a lot of friend requests to my private account, which I always declined. After a few years Sarah convinced me to open a public account. I started it in December of 2020 (I think?) and named it Neighbour Becci. I honestly started it as a joke, thinking a few people who love Sarah would follow it, and didn't hope to achieve anything with it. 

2. So many influencers talk about lifting others up, particularly other women, but you do this in such a tangible way with your “Becci Creeps Chronicles.”  How do you find the accounts you feature? How do you decided who to shine a light on?

Becci: Once I realized my account had a good amount of followers, I knew that I wanted to showcase the people who follow me. They are interesting and talented and deserve all the nice things. I find the accounts through creeping on people when they comment on my photos or DM me. Or, if I'm running out of accounts to share, I will just tell people to message me and ask if they can go on the Creeps Chronicles if they want to. 

3. I think one of the big reasons your posts resonate with so many people is that you consistently come across as profoundly yourself. You really do feel like everyone’s neighbour! At the same time, you have managed to keep your public persona somewhat separate from you real-life identity. Can you talk a little bit about how and why you create those boundaries? How do you find the balance between creating meaningfully personal content and protecting your privacy?

Becci: I absolutely adore boundaries, and have never had any problem saying no to things I don't want to do. I don't share my job because I don't think my job aligns with my Neighbour Becci content. I choose not to share my kids because if anyone said even one mean/bad thing about them I would burn the account to the ground. I find the balance of personal content/protecting privacy to be easy to manage simply because I knew going in that I had boundaries that were non-negotiable. When my kids are older I will let them decide if they want to be on the account at all.

4. Walk us through a day in your life. What do you hope your typical day might look like five years from now?

Becci: So if I am not working, a typical day is waking up to my cat Dwight sitting atop my chest. He must be pet.

Then I get my kids on the bus. After that it's finally time. Plants vs Zombies with my breakfast. I play this game every day and once pitched a fit because the game crashed and I lost all of my precious coins. I had millions. I will never forget that fateful day. I am only a thousandaire now in that game. Humiliating. Then, I could lie and say that I run errands or exercise or do chores but that is not the truth. When my kids are at school and I am not working I will absolutely read all day. When my kids are off the bus we hang out, making dinner, sometimes go on a walk. Then when my kids are in bed I will literally start reading again. Thrown in there also is hanging out with my husband Scott, and I usually eat at least 2-4 packs of Gushers a day. Oh, also we just got 2 new puppies so my day lately is a lot of making sure they don't defecate all over the house.

5. What should we all be watching this summer?

Becci: I love recommending things, this makes my heart happy. If you are into apocalyptic style shows you should watch Daybreak on Netflix. If Gossip Girl style shows is your thing you MUST watch Elite on Netflix. If like me, you love reality shows please please watch Love Island on HayU. The British Love Island NOT the American or Australian. Start on season 3 though. Seasons 1 and 2 are not the best.

6. What is the best part about parenthood? The worst?

The best part of parenthood is laughing at farts, tobogganing, movie nights, camp fires, sparklers, snuggles, hide and seek, water balloons, face paint...all the little experiences that make this giant experience of love. The worst thing about parenthood is you have no idea if you've done a good job until the job is done. You constantly worry that you're not parenting well, and that you're going to somehow screw up your kid.

7. The pandemic has been a deeply sucky time in so many ways. Is there anything positive it has given you, any wisdom you are going to take away from this experience?

Becci: The positive for me has been extra time with my family. I have not taken that for granted, even when we are all getting on each other's nerves. I think wisdom I gained from the pandemic is workplaces and schools have been extremely ableist. People with disabilities have been begging for years for accommodations like working from home etc., and it was "never possible." However when a pandemic hits and it's good for the company/college/government, all of a sudden out of office accommodations happen in a flash.

8. I love that you have such fierce opinions about food. I am going to need for you to rate the following things on a scale of 1 (sewer pancakes) to 10 (would be continuously eating if possible):

-Onions 10

-Coffee 5 (I only like it like a 12 year old would, blended in a Frappuccino with sugar loaded in and whipped cream)

-Blue cheese 0

-Hot peppers 1

-Mustard 5

-Waffles 10

-Cornbread 10 (but only if Kate makes it)

-Beets 8 (if they are pickled especially)

-Butter 10

-Hot dogs 10

-Chocolate 10

-Mint 10 (for the actual herb, 3 for the artificial flavour)

-Lemon 8

-Cauliflower 9

9. I had planned on asking you about your top 3 teen crushes, but then I saw that you had beat me to the punch by recently posting your top 4. JTT and Devon Sawa were obvious picks, but I was impressed by Uncas from The Last of The Mohicans and Jamal from Ghosts Writer. Those are very deep cuts. I was perplexed that Felix King from Road to Avonlea was not mentioned. Please explain this omission to me.

Becci: I admit, at the time I forgot about Felix, and I apologize. But I am noticing now that YOU have forgotten the original Prince Edward Island bad boy, Gus Pike. Please explain that omission to me!

10. If you could invite any 10 people to a fantasy dinner party and they had to say yes, who would you invite and what would be on the menu?

Becci: First, my husband Scott, because he makes me feel comfortable in group settings. After that, Dan Levy, Lizzo, Monet X Change, Seth Rogen, Catherine O'Hara, Emma Thompson, Julia of @glass.full on Instagram, author Talia Hibbert, and Dolly Parton. I feel like dinner with these people would be joyful and full of laughter. We would eat a full BBQ dinner. Ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad, and coleslaw. Dessert would be snow cones.

Bonus Questions:

A. The older I get, the more I find it difficult to get into new music. Instead, I cling tighter and tighter to the songs of my lost youth. What music do you keep coming back to from your glory days? Can you suggest any new-ish artists, albums, or songs that I might not hate?

I still love Salt-N-Pepa, and a lot of older stuff from Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke...but I tend to be way more into current music. If you like pop music, Olivia Rodrigo's album is amazing. If you are into really soulful music, you must check out The War and Treaty. If you love rap, you need Little Simz in your life. If you want to dance to a different language, definitely Stromae. A single I'm really into right now is Residue by Tayla Parx. 

B. Please describe, in great detail, your ultimate snack?

Becci: Kate this is impossible, but for you I will try. Savoury, buttered popcorn with a light shake of salt and a coke zero. Sweet, my mom's jam tarts and a lime Bubly. I will also never say no to a charcuterie board. 

C. What do you look for in a really great book? Tell me one book to read this summer and I promise to read it.

Becci: For me, a really great book has a diverse cast of characters, romance, and banter. I need banter. I will give you two choices in case you don't like my preferred genre. First, I recommend Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik. It's a future space opera and I reread it once every 3 months. If you're not into space/sci fi then I would recommend Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. No one does banter like Talia Hibbert.