Name

Narlyn Pereira

Age

23

School

Graduated this past December from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts degree, while majoring in Arts, Entertainment and Media Management and a concentration in Music Business.

Hometown

*Disclaimer: I went above and beyond with my answers you guys! Thanks for reading if you make it to the end!*

It’s always seems hard for me to answer what my “hometown” is because I have moved around so much and never really felt like I fully identified with a specific city. I am originally from Toronto, Canada but I guess would say grew up mostly in Detroit, Michigan.

Position

Public Relations/Marketing Intern

What are you most excited about this Summer during your internship?

I would have to say the thing I am most excited about this summer during my internship is my growth and adaptive nature in a field of my interest. I’m an individual who is well aware of my capabilities and my strengths. I’ve also been studying the industry I am currently in for four and a half years, as I could never imagine being in a different one. Unfortunately, I have not had as much real world experience in this field as I would have liked. I think it will be very interesting for me to see how I adapt to certain environments and how I act on my feet when placed in circumstances that I will be unfamiliar with, but in the industry I want to be in. I believe my effort and drive will be harder because I wouldn’t ever want to give my peers, my network, or those surrounding me a reason to doubt, or not believe in me and what I have to give. I’m excited about my progress and my growth in knowing that I'll have bad days and times where I will mess up, and need to in order to be better, but how I recover from those now in the real world and in the real industry, rather a classroom with books creating hypotheticals.

What three traits define you?

Passionate, I'm very passionate, courageous and ambitious.

What is your personal philosophy?

If you don’t try to give your best in everything you do, you’ll always wish you did better. I think it’s important, especially as I’ve gotten older and it’s really something I try to live by, but “if you knew better, you’d do better.” Though it sounds cliche and sometimes we don’t always know better, that’s why it’s important to give the best you can. Whether it be at home, at work or your relationships, which is also hard work, you must also put forth your best effort. I never want to walk away from a situation wishing I wouldve done something that crossed my mind, or feeling that something failed or didn’t succeed to its full potential, because of a lack of effort on my behalf. It’s better to do, than to regret that you didn’t.

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?

Music. I would probably be the world's most depressed person, and of all time, if I didn't have my sound. Music soothes me, teaches me, calms me and talks to me. My music is my mood.

What is the greatest challenge you have had to overcome in your life thus far?

The greatest challenge I’ve had to overcome in my life thus far is death and how that relates to change and ultimately things keep moving. I’ve never lost someone immediately close to me until this year. It has taught me that things will and can change at any moment with or without warning and as a human, you just have to adjust. If you don’t, everything around you continues to move and time stops for no one. I think I’ve took this lesson and applied that to everyday life in knowing that regardless of the situation, one must take their time and do what you can while and when you can, yes, but ultimately it goes back to adapting and you just have to keep up.

What is the one thing you cannot resist?

I honestly cannot think of one thing that I can’t resist. I’m pretty discipline and realistically, I don’t think there’s anything that I just truly love to that capacity. I do have an undying fascination with gold though. I love all things gold, but I could probably resist.

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is being misunderstood.

Where is your favorite place to be?

My favorite place to be is in the water. Im totally a summer baby, being that my birthday is in July. I absolutely love the summer and would live in water if I could, whether it be a pool or deep in the ocean.

How do you recharge?

It’s become a favorite of mine more recently in the past year and half, but hot yoga is my way to recharge. Its funny because I strongly dislike regular yoga but hot yoga just puts me in my element. The room is 100 plus degrees and it really allows for me to relax and release everything it is that I’m holding in. Because of the setting and atmosphere sometimes I cry, sometimes I just meditate and sometimes I just thrive in the exercise itself. I love working out but I feel that hot yoga, for me, is moving prayer.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to (or want to travel to) and why?

I’ve traveled many places, in the country and outside the country, London, Paris, Atlantis etc., but I think there's always more. Traveling is a favorite hobby of mine and I want to go to so many incredible places but traveling to Mykonos or Santorini, Greece is still at the top of my list. I think all of Greece is beautiful and organic but Mykonos and Santorini is just filled with water and white architecture. It doesn’t even seem real. I absolutely have to touch, see, feel and taste them for myself!  

What does true leadership mean to you?

True leadership, to me, is to take charge and go against the grain, stand your ground and pursue forward for the betterment of yourself and others no matter how difficult or potentially controversial. You carry a weight that you aren't even sure you're capable of carrying, but you find faith and trust within yourself and carry that load until you reach the finish line.

What has been the most important innovation you have witnessed in your lifetime?

I believe that Apple in itself is a company that is very innovative and always sets the path for others to follow, whether it be with the first iPod, transforming cd to downloads and making everything digital or the highly praised iPhone. Though it’s also caused issues in the entertainment industry in regards to hacking celebrities, I don’t believe we can shy away from the fact that the “cloud” was brilliant. Being able to pull your photos, documents, music and any other material from any of your devices to the other, no matter the location, was such a great idea. I think it was a great innovation, but I’m not settled on what’s the most important.

What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?

I would tell my 13 year old self not to worry about my weight and that everything will play out soon and be okay. I would tell myself that regardless of whatever I see and others say, I am loved and I am so beautiful. Then I would give that girl a hug.

What are your three most overused words/phrases?

This is hilarious. That’s not one of my most overused phrases, by the way. BUT, the phrases and words I do use a lot is “absolutely not,” “one thousand percent,” and “girl.”

How do you define success?

If you are successful, you are emotionally and spiritually full. You have reached a point of being truly happy in content in your current state not because it’s comfortable and your way of living is “safe,” but because what you’ve set out to do, you’ve reached above and beyond that, making everything turn out better than you could’ve ever thought. You are full in your happiness, and your thought of yourself. Money and wealth certainly adds to that and is the icing to it, but does not define it as a whole. One’s position does not determine their purpose and plan.

What is the best book you have ever read?

This question has taught me something that I already knew about myself but need to take action about changing. I keep saying I’m going to read more books to better my vocabulary and teach me things but I am not a big reader. I want to be but I’m not. That being said, I can’t really name a book that’s the best I’ve ever read. The most recent book I read was 50 Shades of Grey which was a good book, but I wouldn’t want to say that the best!

What movie or novel character do you most identify with?

This is a hard question for me to answer because I am not too big on reading books and I’m actually not someone who goes to the movies unless invited. I cannot even think of a movie or novel character I can most identify with. I can think of actresses who have personality traits that are similar to mine and they ultimately act in a way that I do, but I am unsure when it comes to a specific character. Keke palmer's upbeat and slightly wacky side reminds me of myself as well as Adrienne Bailon. Adrienne Bailon is someone I think I am very similar to when it comes to my personality, with a mix of Teyana’s taylor humor!

When you look back on life what would you have wanted to accomplish or become?

When I look back there isn’t really a situation or intended goal that I wish I could have accomplished or a person that I wish I would’ve become. I think that I am still young enough to find both of those things out and learn my path on my way.

What characteristic do you most admire in others?

Loyalty, understanding and empathy are characteristics I sincerely value in others.

What super power would you like to have?

Oh my goodness, I would love to have a teleporting power if I could. Transportation and waiting be gone!

What's the most important lesson you've learned in the last year?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in the last year was that you never really know someone until you have to trust them.

If you ruled the world, what would you change on Day 1?

If I ruled the world, on the first day I would make a law to say that any public bashing (outdoors or social media), plotting against, crimes against or intolerable aggressive speech done in a public setting against gays, a particular minority or one considered/identified as “different,” be banned and that individual/groups suffer appropriate punishment. I will never understand the amount of hate in people's heart no matter how big or small for someone, or a group of people who doesn’t personally affect them, nor do they have to be apart of their practices or beliefs. It does and will forever disgust me. Bullying and hate crimes of all forms are repulsive and purposeless. These exact same “type” of people will continue to be apart of this world, it’s a circle of life and will rotate when the people who hate them are gone. There’s always a new cycle and a new group that will flow on our earth, so senseless violence and abuse doesn’t kill the “issue,” it creates one as well as lifelong scars and heartbreak.

Tell us something that might surprise us about you.

Something that you may find surprising about me is that I had a speech therapist when I was a child for a couple years. Being born in Canada and being surrounded by two languages, I often found it difficult to speak without combining the two together. I would mix my English and my Spanish and not be able to distinguish the two, making others misunderstand me entirely. It was very hard to understand what I was saying so my father took me to a speech therapist for a couple of years. Now I am a very good speaker and the most proper person in my family.

You can follow Narlyn on Instagram and Facebook and contact her this Summer at narlyn@therebelleagency.com.