Q-and-A with sophomore Priya Kattuvelil

Mia Nguyen: What song do you think describes your vibe/personality?

Priya Kattuvelil: “What you know” by two door cinema club. It’s very nostalgic and positive song.
It’s about savoring life and living in the moment.

MN: What makes you feel the most alive?

PK: I would say music because it makes you more happy about things. It's been a huge part of
my life, I was in choir for many years, and I was also in dance.

MN: If you could be a character from a movie or book who would you be?

PK: I would love to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast because she’s so smart and she likes to
help others, and I would like to be a princess for a day.

MN: Do you consider yourself to be an old soul or a kid at heart?

PK: Definitely a kid. I love watching Disney movies and reminiscing about childhood memories,
and I don’t act older than I am because I like to enjoy as much as I can when I’m young. I don’t
want to take life for granted and use my time wisely and not waste it.

MN: What would the title of the story of your life be?

PK: Keep moving forward. I don’t let past events that were difficult for me bring me down or
things where I didn’t achieve what I wanted prohibit me from achieving other goals and finding
success. One thing I always try to do is keep moving forward, because I shouldn’t let things
bring me down.

MN: What are things that stress you out?

PK: School, homework, tests it's all down to the grades. I really want to get into a good college, I
want to make my parents and myself proud that I did well in school. Its like you want to get a
certain grade and if you don’t get it you feel like you failed, and it makes you feel less of
yourself. So I want to be the best I can and I have to work hard to get good grades, and that a
lot of stress on myself.
MN: Does your family life affect your personality?

PK: I think so, my sisters are older than me so I kind of follow what they are doing but I do have
my own interest and they just influence me a lot because they’ve been through high school
already so they have certain experiences that I could learn from and then I don’t have to make
those same mistakes or they can give me advice. We have the same interests and act the same
why towards certain situations. We are all positive, and I like to be positive so I don’t emit that
energy to others.

MN: Where is your favorite place in the world?

PK: I’ve traveled to a lot of places and I’m really grateful for that, because not everyone has that
luxury to travel outside the country. So my favorite place we’ve traveled to would be Spain, it
was very beautiful, and we went to Madrid, Toledo, and Savia. It was really beautiful and I got to
learn about the culture, and the architecture, and the history, and eat amazing food so it was a
great experience.

MN: If you were an office supply what would you be?

PK: I hope I’m a gel pen, because I love gel pens, they make me happy, and I think I have a
bright personality, and gel pens are bright. So I would be a gel pen.

MN: Who is your celebrity crush?

PK: I have a few but right now it would be Timothee Chalamet, because I love his personality
and his acting is amazing, and I think he has a very charming personality. I love how he’s driven
and he’s accomplished so much in his life, I love how he works so hard and he’s so down to
earth.

MN: Favorite quality about yourself?

PK: I’m loyal to a lot of people, if someone where to do something that’s kinda made me feel
bad, I would still try to figure the situation and I wouldn't let that ruin our relationship. I also help
people with everything they need.

MN: What scares you?

PK: I hate spiders so that's one thing, and I would say not doing something that makes me
happy in the future. I hope I can achieve what I wanted early on.

MN: If you were a cookie what flavor would you be and why?

PK: Chocolate chip, it’s my fav cookie, it’s classic, I feel like my personality is very simple and I
don’t like being over the top

MN: What’s an item that makes you feel super nostalgic?

PK: My stuffed animals, because Me and my sister would just play with these stuffed animals,
and we have a whole closet of them. They are still there to this day! We gave them names, and
it was just a really fun time in our lives where we didn’t have to worry about our futures, stress,
and high school.

MN: What infuriates you the most?

PK: I don’t like people that lie or talk about me behind my back, but are nice in your face. I like
honest, genuine people, who don’t speak about you behind your back. They are trustworthy and
you don’t have to worry about them betraying you or making you look like a horrible person.

MN: What would you describe your overall aesthetic as?

PK: I’m very modern, trendy. I’m not very vintage, I’m very fashion forward. I like designer
brands, and modern things.

MN: When was the last time you cried?

PK: A couple days ago, because I was really stressed and I thought things were going down hill.
I just wanted something really good to happen, and I felt stressed out from all the things I had to
do, and I wanted to be able to achieve my goals by the end of the year.

MN: If your childhood had a smell what would it be?

 PK: Skittles, because I felt like I had a lot of candy growing up. I would be fed a lot of candy,
especially skittles like my aunt would always have skittles around, something with a strong,
sweet, candy smell.

MN: What’s a strong belief that you pride yourself on having?

PK: I think you should treat others the way you want to be treated. That’s one of the biggest
things I think. Respect is such an important thing. It affects how you are seen from others.

MN: What are you afraid people see when they look at you?

PK: I’m afraid people think I’m arrogant and like very intimidating. But I’m very nice, loyal, and I
care about people so I’m not a self absorbed person.

MN: What’s the best lesson/life advice you’ve received?

PK: Not to procrastinate, but I feel like I still do. My parents and my sisters are saying you
shouldn’t study the night before the test or you shouldn’t do things last minute, because it
affects you, then you’re stressed out and you don’t know how to plan things in the future and
you have no schedule for yourself.

MN: Could you describe your perfect day?

PK: Waking up to a really nice breakfast, like pancakes or waffles with fruit, and then going to
the mall and getting anything I want, I mean you’re kinda limited and can’t get everything unless
you have a lot of money. Maybe going out to Dallas or something, I mean I can't travel to Paris
or something, but I would like to go to Dallas, and go to a trendy ice cream place, and take
pictures and then go to a fancy restaurant for dinner.

MN: What trait do you wish you had?

PK: I wish I was more organized, and not a procrastinator. I feel like I need to be more
organized with my time so I don’t fall behind on things.

MN: Do you like being the youngest child or would you rather trade places with your siblings?
PK: I used to think being the oldest meant you could get away with more things and have more
things. I was so jealous of my middle sister growing because she got everything, and I was like,
“why couldn’t I have this?” Like the Nintendo DS thing, I never got anything like that. I used to
not have my own room, and we switched rooms, and I had a small closet, and my sister had the
bigger closet that used to be mine! I was like, “what am i supposed to do with this tiny two foot
closet?”