Greta Thunberg has shared details of her typical adolescent life, admitting that she has never taken alcohol and that she avoids romantic relationships out of concern for her vulnerability.
The Swedish climate activist, who is 19 and lives exclusively off of her student stipend, also spoke about how she is highly careful of everything she does.
She prefers to walk everywhere she can rather than use a cab, however she has made an exception when she needed security guards because of Donald Trump’s outspoken assault on her.
President Trump tweeted after Thunberg’s address to the UN General Assembly in 2019 when she was voted Time’s Person of the Year: “She appears like a very happy young lady looking forward to a great and glorious future.” Wonderful to behold!”
Naturally, Thunberg, who was 17 at the time, received a deluge of death threats and media attention, requiring her to hire security.
Thunberg had her retribution when Trump was expelled from the White House, tweeting that he seemed to be a really happy elderly guy who was looking forward to a fantastic and bright future. Wonderful to behold!”
In an interview with Times Magazine, Thunberg said that rather than taking a cab late at night, she would choose to walk home.
I usually walk, she said. Perhaps I should use greater caution… I should probably use greater caution. People advise me that I should.
“There was a time I had security guards, but it was just for a few days,” the speaker said.
The three-time finalist for the Nobel Peace Prize also said that she doesn’t drink and has never been intoxicated, making her far from a typical adolescent.
I would never go out drinking, she said. I don’t know whether it’s because I’m that sort of person or if it’s because I don’t want to be “seen,” but I would never do something dumb. I suppose it may be both.
She claims that one of the reasons behind this is because she doesn’t want someone to brag about being the first to successfully get her intoxicated.
She admitted to the Times that she felt the same way about romantic relationships.
“If I approach them, you’re more exposed,” I say. You are thus far more vulnerable even if others look up to you, she said.
Most teenagers have a go-to music playlist, and Thunberg’s includes the standards Queen’s Somebody to Love, KC and the Sunshine Band’s Billie Jean, Blame It on the Boogie, and Should I Stay or Should I Go. However, not all teenagers have spoken at the UN.
When asked by the Times interviewer whether she had ever been in touch with other renowned people who rose to fame as adolescents, such as Billie Eilish or Lily Allen, she said that she had not.
It’s challenging because, in some ways, I feel like just another activist who knows how to call a strike and approach politicians.
On the other hand, I have a totally different perspective [than other activists]. Few people have ever participated in grassroots activism while being watched by the paparazzi.
I don’t enjoy it when people call me an influencer, but they recently did.
According to Thunberg, who is still in school, economics was her least favorite class since it was “this thing that we humans have made up and we now revere it.”
On October 27, the activist is scheduled to publish her first book, titled “The Climate Book,” which is meant to serve as a guide for understanding what is happening to the globe, why it is happening, and how to stop it.
The World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development’s Saleemul Huq, the World Bank’s Silpa Kaza, and economist Thomas Piketty are among the many professionals who contributed to the book by writing on their respective areas of expertise.
She states that all book sales would benefit charities, and although it “would be lovely to have money,” she prefers to spark discussion.
Thunberg said that if she received money from her employment, people would be “angry” at her for living off of her college loans.
Though you can’t actually support yourself by being an activist, she said that doing so is more or less ethically required of us.
“Artists and influencers can make money without getting in trouble, but I can’t,” I said.
Since all addresses in Sweden are public, the activist acknowledged that her financial condition is “not sustainable” and claimed that she now resides at a friend’s apartment.
She said the following about her potential future: “Sometimes I find myself wondering, “What do I do with my life?” And it concludes with, “Nothing is predictable to me. Let’s groove! “‘ she said.