Imagine growing up in a Parlotones' rock-royalty household. That's Gen Z Emma Hodgson whose charting her own path now.
Dad is a famous rock star. Mom, an artist. And growing up in a celebrity home never felt unusual to Gen Z’er Emma Hodgson.
Her dad, Paul Hodgson, and her uncle, Glen Hodgson, of The Parlotones were touring the world while she was at school, doing homework and helping make dinner.
It was her normal. Being the offspring of a member of a band adored by thousands of fans wasn’t that different to, well, anyone else’s upbringing.
“I think a lot of people think that my life is very different because of my dad and my uncle being in the Parlotones,” Hodgson said.
“But at the end of the day, they are just normal people. My dad comes home, and he plays games. He helps me make dinner and does the washing. Just because it’s been part of my life for so long, I never saw it as something different,” she said.
Parlotones are ‘amazing’
“But I must admit that every time I go watch them perform, I’m just in awe. Even after all these years, I still always just watch them and think ‘wow, this is amazing’.”
That’s why, at some point in her life, this Gen Z wanted to follow the bright lights, too.
“I went through a phase where I was like, I have to be in a band,” she said. “I grew up in a very creative household. My mom is an amazing artist, and my dad is obviously creative in the sense of musicality.”
She took guitar lessons, dabbled in drums and spent years in dance classes.
Presently, she’s studying for a qualification in marketing and also serves as an events manager at a large restaurant.
“I like structure, I like planning things,” she said. “When I plan something and put together all the décor and the music and everything, and I see the end result, that feeling of pride is just like ‘oh, I did that’.”
“I always want music, dancing and instruments to be a fun part of life. I don’t want it to become a job.”
But that doesn’t mean that she’s not still attracted to performing.
“A friend of mine and I have been dancing together for years, and we’ve been toying with the idea of starting a company as a group of performers,” she said.
“We actually had our first trial run at a recent Western Fair to celebrate our first year of being open. It’s a slow start, but I like the idea because it gives me a chance to still dance and perform a little bit while still trying to find out what I’m doing with my life.”
Gen Zs are stereotyped
As a Gen Z, she has often heard people generalise her entire generation.
She said that the way the media defines her generation is foreign to her and her peers.
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything, and I definitely don’t apply it to my life,” she said.
“The people I surround myself with have the same mindsets. I think the media has blown a lot of it up. The whole point of social media is to influence. If you are not strongly set in your morals or values, you can be easily influenced by that kind of thing. But me personally, I’m not really.”
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The media loves labels, so do people. Everyone loves hype. But even when it comes to influencers or celebrities, Hodgson said they have limited to zero sway on her Gen Z sensibilities.
“I look at stars like Sabrina Carpenter and I’m like ‘okay she’s very talented, I love her hair, she’s cute, her music is catchy’,” she said.
“But I would never be like ‘oh, I have to do what she does’. I don’t feel like I’m personally influenced by her. Or any others for that matter.”
Influencers don’t influence
These days, it’s plan it all out, rather than figure it out. On their own terms.
“I have a few friends who have their lives planned out to a tee,” she said. “But a good majority are kind of figuring it out as we go. They’re like ‘Okay, I like this, and I’m going to try it, but I’ve also got this as a backup’.
“There’s not as much pressure to be like you have to know what you’re doing right now. I think we are all just taking it step by step.”
Hodgson added that she’s relying on a higher power, too.
“I’m just trying to put my trust in God’s hands,” she said. “I’m taking one thing at a time, and any opportunity that falls my way, I’m trying to take it on so that I can learn what I love and what I don’t love.”
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