10 Questions for Kayla, Millennial

Name: Kayla Brown

Age: 23

Location: Boston, MA

1. What book has most impacted who you are today?

My favorite story growing up, hands down, was Hansel and Gretel.  Withstanding any and all conclusions concerning my questionable character that may have been drawn from this confession, I maintain that you can’t beat candy and cannibalism as tools for building a plot.

Also, given my religious upbringing, failure to mention The Bible in regards to the character development of yours truly would be nothing short of preposterous.

2. If you unexpectedly received $100 today, what would you spend it on?

Right now?  Right this second?  Let’s see… I’m out of conditioner… and my car insurance is due.  I think I’d rather buy a sparkly dress and take a handful of over-worked, over-tired, over-caffeinated friends out for an epic adventure in the City of Dreams.  Afterward, I’d buy them all omelettes with sides of delicious diner toast.  This might sound like an oxymoron, but omelettes with buttery diner raisin-toast at ungodly hours of the morning is the closest thing to heaven.

I think I’m over-budget.  :o(

3. What are 5 brands/products that you can’t live without?

• MacBook: I don’t think I could love a human baby more than this bundle of technological joy.
• Crackberry: self explanatory.
• Coffee: The rocket fuel propelling me through the galaxy of life.  I tried giving it up, but the withdrawal symptoms were so severe, I caved around 2 p.m. the first day.  I can’t even imagine what it must be like to kick heroin.
• Google:  Looking at their logo, you would think it was some kind of educational childrens’ television network targeting pre-schoolers.  That being said, I honestly can’t say I would be surprised if it turned out that Google is actually a coalition of evil geniuses bent on world domination.  I also don’t think I would mind.
• BareEscentuals Foundation: Boys reading this, I’m sorry.  Girls, you know what I’m talking about!  … and if you don’t, go find out!  Seriously, call out of work if you have to.

4. What are you most thankful to your parents/guardians for?

Looking back over my impressive resume of screw-ups, boo-boos, and uh-ohs, the one constant running theme is that my parents were always, always there for me.  Sure they would get mad; yell, lecture, the dreaded, “I’m just so disappointed in you.” But if I was hurting, their sympathy pangs were twice as potent, and you can bet they were gonna do whatever was in their power to help make things right.  Unconditional love — isn’t that what they call it?  Being exposed to that kind of influence is both… flattering?… inspiring, maybe?  I know I’m very lucky.  It’s also incredibly humbling, because I owe them absolutely everything.  Which makes me all the more determined to make them proud and buy them an island, or at the very least, a fancy espresso machine.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  Love you!

5. What’s your favorite website/blog, and why is it so dang awesome?

You mean other than thenextgreatgeneration.com?

I’m a big fan of stumblueupon.com.  In a digital world of spoon-fed tinyurls and RSS feeds, I love the feeling of blindly hurtling through cyberspace, completely surrendering your destiny to the fingers of fate and the click of a mouse.  Ok, maybe I’m just glamorizing the Rolls Royce of procrastination tools, but if it wasn’t for stumbleupon, how would I ever have stumbled upon this!?

http://whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/

I rest my case.

6. What’s the most “scandalous” thing you’ve ever done, that you’re willing to admit to the public?

“Scandalous” is my middle name, dahhhling…

Actually, it’s “Jean.”

Not sure whether or not this falls into the eponymous ‘scandalous’ category, but whatevs.  Not so many moons ago, a good friend and I decided on a whim that we should send a card to Lil Wayne while he serves out his sentence.  The general consensus is that Rikers Island is no picnic, so we figured he could use some cheering up.  Unfortunately, CVS’ product offerings did not include, “Cards Bearing Glad Tidings for Incarcerated Rap Superstars,”  so we had to make do with what we could find.  We ended up voicing our support and/or eternal groupie love (“…we may be little white girls, but it’s worth noting we have pretty good taste in music.  That being said, we’re huge fans.”) on one of those electronic musical cards from Hallmark.  We chose one that played, “I say a little prayer for you,” because it seemed the most relevant.  We snatched his address off of the official Lil Wayne blog, and Voila!

Why the stickers?  As marketing majors, it seemed sacrilegious not to take advantage of the noble art of Packaging.

We have yet to hear from our beloved Lil Wayne.  To his credit, it was signed simply, “Kayla and Claire,” and in my fit of sticker-mania, I neglected to put a return address.  Still, ball’s in your court, Weezy.

7. What have you done so far in life that you’re most proud of?

I suppose I always thought that as I grew older and (hopefully!) wiser, my intellectual curiosity would give way to life experience as one of the laws of nature and physics.  (What goes up, must come down, right?)  I’m finding the older I get and the more I learn, the more I find myself asking, “Why?” about anything and everything.  Questioning the nature of reality.  Why are we here?  What’s my purpose in life?  Why don’t cats like swimming?  Why is he here with her?  Why is she wearing that?!  Frankly, I couldn’t be more delighted.  Chronic curiosity may kill cats, but it makes life a whole lot more interesting.

8. What accomplishment (personal or professional) do you hope to achieve by the time you retire?

I suppose you mean other than world domination…?

I remember reading somewhere (pretty sure it was a fortune cookie) that, “It’s not your responsibility to try to make everyone else happy — it IS your responsibility to make the most of the talents and abilities that have been given to you.” I think this seems reasonable, don’t you?

9. What is the #1 issue that you wish your peers would pay more attention to, or care more about?

Just care, period.  Pay more attention, period.  Just like every other generation, the vast majority of us want to make a positive difference in the world.  We’re bombarded with a steady stream of causes and issues in need of our attention on a daily basis.  It’s beyond overwhelming.  Instead of trying to judge what’s more deserving of our help – Darfur; homeless, starving puppies; the depletion of the environment; the endangerment of snow leopards; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; or Lindsay Lohan — many of us choose to stay in our secure little bubble.  Which isn’t an excuse, but at least it’s a bit of insight.  I’m just as guilty as the rest of my peers, but in my experience, if a cause speaks to you, just jump in!  When’s the last time you heard someone say, “Ew, gross, why would you teach art classes for inner-city children, you horrible person?  You should be de-worming orphans in Somalia, like me!” I’m always so inspired by people who are passionate about something bigger than themselves… in both the literal and figurative sense.  So, on that note, Stop Deforestation of the Giant Redwoods!

10. What should older generations realize about your generation?

We’re just as scared as you were.  We’re just as anxious to make a difference.  Ultimately, we’re gonna do just fine.

… and if we don’t, and the world turns into a giant fireball, we’re just going to blame our incompetence on your faulty DNA.  That’s right, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves, so cut us some slack!  We’re all in this together.