The answers to two important questions may just tell me all I need to know about you.

1. What was your favorite song in high school?

2. What was your favorite childhood toy?

If you said “Plush” by Stone Temple Pilots and a talking Knight Rider car, you are likely self-sufficient, not very concerned with the leaders in your life, well educated, more comfortable with the TV running and more responsible than your younger siblings.

If you said “Already Gone” by the Eagles and G.I. Joe, you have likely worked hard in the same job for years, are goal-oriented and competitive and wanted to go to Woodstock.

The world around us determines what traits we take on during our formative years, and those traits usually stick with us for life.

Whether you are an old man acting grouchy on the front porch or a 40-something frustrated by the nearly non-existent work ethic of the college intern at your office, human beings universally love to relish in those differences developed in the formative years.

And by relish, I mean complain.

Somewhere between college graduation and the pre-30 panic, most of us begin to simply shake our heads at the ways, lifestyle and attitude of the folks coming up behind us.

It’s happened for decades.

Today’s social media craze is, to the “mature adults” among us, what MTV was to parents in the 1980s, or the peace, love and happiness movement was to parents in the 1960s, or what big band swing was to parents in the 1940s.

We never fully understand those who are not a part of our generation.

But if we set out to learn why we don’t understand each other, well, we might just be able to communicate, work and live together better.

The staff at the newspaper has begun a project to learn about those generational differences that make us who we are.

It’s a project that will quickly leave our building and enter the community as we begin work on Profile 2012.

We kicked off the annual project — the biggest of the year — last Friday with a little music from the Stone Temple Pilots and Eagles, among others, including The Temptations and the O Jays.

We’ll continue work for the next five months, ultimately bringing Profile 2012 to your doorstep on Sunday, Feb. 26.

I won’t divulge the full theme today, but the stories, photos and marketing pieces inside are guaranteed to bring back a flood of memories for all who read.

Our staff will be talking to many of you in the coming months as we reach out to residents, businesses and community members for help in making Profile 2012 the coolest thing since the California Raisins.

We’ll keep you posted as work continues, since Profile is truly your story.

Our newspaper has been lucky to tell the story of this community for many generations, and we promise we’ll give it our all once again.

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.