Maya Palavali

With her unexpected life lessons, stories of Romeo and her golden doodle that she makes adorable cartoons for, Maya is a reliable presence that never fails to leave me without a smile when she is around. Maya consistently maintains a nurturing presence in her ability to always say the right thing. With her penchant for opinion writing and storytelling, I can’t help but be captivated by her words. Her storytelling brings personality and uniqueness to her bizarre stories and emotion to her writing, a style that I can only hope of achieving. 

More than anything, Maya is a friend that I would confide in regarding everything from my embarrassing memories to random stories, her open personality with her genuine and bright smile. From rooming with her for state DECA, her inspiring words and motivating presence relaxed and encouraged me to do my best while competing, a quality she shares with everyone around her.  Even though she is not in my class, the few minutes she spends in our classroom change our entire dynamic leaving laughter in her footsteps.

Though I was intimidated by her at first, I came to see her introspective deep character for who she was. Our love for rom-com books and mutual tendency to express our opinions created a bond that brought a continuous source of warmth. Maya, I will forever cherish my personalized Romeo cartoon and I wait to hear about your chaotic stories from college.