Six Moments from Willow and Jaden’s Conversation with Pharrell for INTERVIEW Magazine

Earlier today, Interview Magazine published a feature with Willow and Jaden Smith, interviewed by none other than the cultural trailblazer (and my favorite person) Pharrell Williams.

Jaden and Willow are arguably most known for their cryptic interviews/tweets and for their outlandish outfits and behaviors.  Needless to say, an interview with almost equally weird Pharrell halted my work for the day.

To save you the trouble of reading the entire interview (which you should do anyway), I’ve saved some of my favorite moments for you below. Check ’em out!

1. Willow on the power of social media, beyond flashy objects and perceived wealth

Like, you can actually be a voice. You can actually say something that’s inspiring and not just make people feel like you need to buy things and be a certain way.

2.  On their parents, Will and Jada, being their biggest inspirations – all due to their positive contributions to the world

Jaden: It all comes from a concept of affecting the world in a positive way and leaving it better than it was than when we came.

Willow: It’s not just about money. It’s not just about giving people gifts or whatever. What my parents have given to me is not anything that has to do with money or success or anything that society says people should be focusing on—it’s something spiritual that only certain people can grasp and accept. And that’s how I act and move in the world today.

3. Jaden speaking on how the siblings channel healthy competition into cooperative success

So there’s always been competition, but we’ve always worked as hard as possible to do the things that we want to do. We never got upset because we could always do the same thing. It happened so that me and Willow were able to go through every level or different section of life that we wanted to. If we wanted to act, we could act. If we wanted to dance, we were dancing. And we could do it on the level that we wanted to do it.

4. Willow addressing our generation’s obsession with social media use, and how it’s affecting her creative process:

Even for people like us who have an awareness that’s slightly more awakened, it still takes over your mind. And you find yourself randomly going on your phone for no reason, randomly doing things. It becomes compulsive, and you have to start asking yourself, “Whoa, what is the real reason for me checking my Instagram every five minutes? What is the real reason for me posting this photo right now?” I never want to do things impulsively that have no meaning or intent, especially on social media.

It hinders me when I get lost in things that other people are doing. [laughs] It helps when I can be inspired by things that other people are doing instead of just being like, “Oh, that’s cool this person is doing this.”

5. Willow reflects on her purpose as a cultural trailblazer, and how her ambassadorship with Chanel meets that purpose

If we didn’t have the kind of exposure to the world that we do now, people wouldn’t hear the positive thoughts that we have. It’s amazing to be able to work with iconic people and to have my name on something that’s so beautiful, but at the same time, the only reason why I do it is so that I can have more of a reach to different kinds of people and spread my message. The only thing that really matters is spreading love and light and acceptance and unity throughout the entire world in any way that you possibly can.

6. The best piece of advice Willow has ever received

Do you, boo boo.

She clearly took those word of advice to heart. You should, too!

Willow and Jaden’s responses were insightful – each answer made me stop and think about my role in the relationships that I belong, and even my purpose as a young person in today’s ever-changing society.

Furthermore, I grew inspired by the end of the interview.  The thought process of these kids (they’re only 15 and 18) is way beyond anything I’ve ever heard from grown adults.  Hearing from them together inspired me to have more purpose – not even on a grand level, but just to have thoughtful intent with every small action and decision that I make, day in and day out.

Read the full interview here.