Cool family member interview

For my cool family member I interviewed my mom (not Paula, this one is Nancy, a professor of social work).

When I asked her what makes someone cool she said that it is important for someone to be different, a little rebellious, funny, and reflective of the underdog. She is a Mets fan, as am I. I asked her whether she thought that this is just what society expects of a cool person or if those qualities are truly admirable, and she said that she really does value them in a person.

I then asked her what she thought the coolest aspect of herself was, and after thinking for a while she answered "My candor." When asked to elaborate she said that often her students say she is cool because she talks openly about her own life; she isn't just a professor to them, she's a real person. She continued by saying that she thinks it takes courage to step out of a role like that.

I asked her who the coolest member of her side of the family was. After verifying that I was only talking about her family and she could therefore not answer Bruce Springsteen, she answered that they were all cool but it was probably a tie between herself and her brother David. She said that he was probably the most rebellious. I pointed out that her sister, Joanie, is an anarchist communist who had once taken a building hostage as part of a protest in high school. She said that that didn't quite fit the criteria of being a little rebellious.