LIYAAN MASKATI

I can’t be sure how we two painfully shy and introverted people became friends, but I am glad we did. It was in her company that I was able to take joy in the simple things, like a well-baked Japanese milk bread or a seven-letter word in Banana-grams. She was able to remold any occasion into an “adventure”, which made even grabbing lunch unusually exciting. To many people, Liyaan seems like the person who can master anything she tries her hand at, whether it is playing the piano, giving an exam, or playing Mario Kart. However, many fail to recognize the amount of hard work that she puts in. I do not blame them though- Liyaan manages to hold herself to high standards but she works silently and only competes with herself. She is structured and methodological— she tackles every obstacle like she would a math problem, carefully unraveling the pieces and arriving at the solution with a certain grace. She has a certain confidence, one that is free of arrogance and emerges from her ability to trust herself and be comfortable with herself. This immense trust that she has in who she is and what she values inspires me to know myself better and be unapologetic for it once I do.

Written by Sanaya Shikari