I am so honoured to be featured in the May issue of Elle Canada with 5 other inspirational activists, entrepreneurs, bloggers and YouTubers talking about our generation – Generation Z.
I had such a great day at Elle Canada with the other Generation Zers, each of these young women truly inspire me. For the interview, we all got together in a panel format and talked about everything from social media to body image and we got straight to the core of how we see our generation.
So many conversations that happened that day inspired me. I had a lot to say about the many things that we covered (we all did), the panel discussion lasted more than two hours! However, not everything could be included in the print article or in the online piece with videos. So, I wanted to share some of my thoughts about some of the things we discussed about Generation Z that day. It was a really important conversation to me because I feel that sometimes our generation is misunderstood. Below are just some of the questions that we were asked and some of what I had to say…
Do you think boys and girls are treated equally?
It depends on the perspective. In North America, boys and girls are, for the most part, treated equally in my experience. I go to public school with boys and girls in my class, same for summer camp and karate. Especially at karate, we are all the same. We are never singled out because of our gender, but rather for our level of experience.
However, it is a well known fact that there are 66 million girls in the world that do not have the opportunity to go to school and this impacts their future and their family’s future.
Do boys care about the issues you do?
It’s got nothing to do with gender. I know lots of boys and lots of girls who are just as passionate about their own issues. I also know lots of boys and lots of girls who aren’t interested in things like that – to each their own. But I don’t think it’s about gender. It’s about who you are.
How important is social media in your lives? What do you use most? What do you use it for?
So many people think that because we are on our phones, we are narcissistic. But so many of us use social media for social good. My friends and I use social media and the Internet as a platform to connect, share, and learn about the causes and issues that we care about. As a Free The Children Ambassador and speaker, I have travelled across North America and met hundreds of young people who are doing awesome things to make a difference locally and globally. I keep connected with them through social media. It has also happened in the reverse where I have also met so many interesting people through social media and get a chance to meet them in person when I travel.
We also use social media for fun! We check in to see what our friends are up to and yes, to take selfies. We take selfies, no because we’re narcissistic, but it is much easier than finding someone else to take your picture.
A selfie with Noreen Flanagan, Editor-In-Chief, Elle Canada
Who inspires you and why?
Malala Yousafzai and Craig Kielburger. Both for different reasons.
Malala inspires me for all of the reasons that she inspires everyone – her courage, her passion and that she is doing what she is doing at such a young age. She has also shown in her book and her recent documentary that she is also a “normal” teenager who has everyday “teenager” struggles. She does her homework, sometimes her grades aren’t as high as she wants them to be, her younger brothers tease each other and she likes to hang out with her friends. All of this shows that you can care about big things and do big things and not lose yourself and experiences of ‘normal’ life.
Craig inspires me because what he has accomplished is the result of learning about an issue when he wasn’t looking. He was just looking through newspaper on a Saturday morning looking for the comic section and he came across an article about a boy who was killed for speaking out against child labor. When people read stories like this, they don’t always feel the need to do something about it because it doesn’t affect them directly. But it affected Craig – this boy that he read about, Iqbal Masih, was the same age that Craig was – 12 years old. He didn’t care that this wasn’t happening in his country, he knew that this was wrong and he was going to do something about it. When Craig talks about Free the Children and what it means, it means two things: It means we’re going to free the children from child labor, poverty and overall lack of access in developing communities. But it also means we are here to free the children from the belief that they are too young to make a difference.
What celebrities inspire you most? Why?
Rowan Blanchard is someone who really inspires me. She is an Ambassador for United Nations initiative, He for She and uses her celebrity profile to amplify her voice and message on gender equality. I really admire how she is using her voice to make a difference and shed light on important issues in the world.
Lilly Singh is definitely someone who I look up to. Her YouTube channel, iiSuperWomanii, is all about making people smile and be happy. I had the opportunity to interview her and she talked about how she believed that we were all superheroes in our own way.
What’s the last book you read?
The last book I read was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It was a fantastic book. The main character, Charlie, his favourite book was Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. I’m almost finished.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 25 years?
This is a question that I get asked a lot. In 5 years, I will be 18 years old and getting ready to go to University. There, I will likely study International Relations and Development, because I’m interested in a lot of the global issues that are facing the world today and hope to gain a better understanding of the causes and solutions. All I know for my career is that I want to help people and the world. That is something that will really fulfill me. Just doing my best to help in anyway I possibly can.
You can check out the other amazing girls that were part of the Gen Z panel and the inspiring things that they are doing. I’ve included links to their sites below the photo.
Left to right:
Rachel Parent – 16 year-old GMO educator and activist
Trinity Arsenault – 16 year-old swimmer and active lifestyle advocate
Me! Hannah Alper, 13 year-old blogger, change-maker and activist.
Linda Manziaris – 15 year-old jewelry designer and social entrepreneur
Sabrina Cruz – 17 year-old YouTube personality
Kasha Slavner – 17 year-old photographer, filmmaker, and social entrepreneur
It was a great day with some great people and great conversation. I’d love to know what your thoughts. If any of the questions above have got you thinking, let me know in the comments below and let’s keep the conversation going.
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