Brit Liegl & Kathryn Budig
Brit
What drives you ?
Aside from my children, I would say curiosity, novelty, and of course—knowing how many people in this world get pissed seeing a queer Black woman thrive.
How do you move when you have to overcome an obstacle, and what tricks do you reach for to help you ?
When I need to overcome an obstacle I honestly thrive on a time crunch. I need that pushed to the brink, last minute adrenaline rush to help me move past an obstacle. Which I am sure others with ADHD can relate to. Unless of course there is hyperfixation involved, then all I need is the problem solving lure of a new puzzle to motivate me.
What do you wish you were asked more often ?
Something I wish I was asked more often? You know, things we ask children but never adults. What is your favorite dinosaur? What superpower do you wish you had? What’s the silliest face you can make? Things of this nature. Life becomes so serious for us adults. The world feels like and seems to be a shit mess. So full of anger and hate. I would love to be asked questions that bring back the whimsy. To remind me to have fun. After all, none of us are escaping death, so why not add more joy where you can?
One book you love ?
Okay, this book question is so unfair. I want to list a small library of books I love! I will say one of my top books, and a book I still think about is Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell. I had never read anything quite like it and gave me so many nuanced questions to ponder over even a year later. I love reading something that really makes me THINK.
One place you will never forget ?
Morocco. I was born and raised in the US and still reside here. I traveled to Spain and Morocco with a small group of students when I was 15. This was my first time traveling abroad. We traveled just weeks after the Madrid train bombings occurred, and riding on the back of 9/11 paranoia, many parents were concerned about us traveling during Holy Week. Thankfully, no one stopped us from boarding that plane and I am so glad they didn’t. I have some of the best memories from that trip, particularly of Morocco. The people we met, places we visited, the FOOD and drink we had truly changed me. It was because of this lived experience I was able to broaden my mind and realize that we are not as free in the US as they would like us to believe. And for that I am eternally grateful. You don’t realize as a teenager that it can be these exact experiences that help shape who will become as an adult.
Kathryn
What drives you ?
I’ve always had an insatiable desire to create, and I’m not entirely sure where it stems from. The word drive makes me think of my father’s obsessive drive to succeed at all things. I inherited that drive, but I’m actively unlearning attachment to success as a form of happiness. So I suppose you could say happiness drives me — the need to find magic in the mundane, the ability to connect people through story, and the longing for joy and shared experience.
How do you move when you have to overcome an obstacle, and what tricks do you reach for to help you ?
I recently started a Substack as a ‘public diary’ of sorts — a place to work out weekly feelings, which ultimately leads to share experiences, which — ding ding ding! — leads to healing! And as much as I love writing, I find talking openly about what I’m feeling with my closest friends and/or therapist to be the most successful tool to overcoming my obstacle. I’ll often ’think’ I feel a certain way, but after a long train of thought and exchange of ideas, I always land on what I actually need to let go of in order to be happy.
What do you wish you were asked more often?
This is so dependent on the person asking the question. I wish my family asked how I was feeling more often. I long for a deeper, more personal connection with them. My friends are absolute pros as this. Beyond that, I wish I was asked out for pizza more often!
One book you love ?
Such a difficult question! I’m going to go with a brand new one: THE CHILDREN by Melissa Albert. It comes out in June 2026 and I had the honor of reading an early manuscript. Melissa has an exquisite ability to blend fairytale with urban grit, all wrapped in the most beautiful prose. She is an inspiration, a wordsmith, and a magical being.
One place you will never forget ?
I’ll never forget living near the canals in Venice, CA with my puggle, Ashi. We would walk those canals everyday, and I would daydream about what my life would turn into, where I would live, what my house would look life, what my life would look like. I can still see Ashi’s little booty wiggling as I’d look up and dream.