Viveka Saraiya (12) sits attentively, eagerly listening, while her friends open up about their personal problems to her. Her ability to handle challenging obstacles stems from her general mindset of viewing the greater picture of any situation. Everything that Viveka does in her daily life has an important significance specifically to her, whether it be extra-curricular activities or simply just maintaining her level mindset.

“When I’m in a stressful situation, I stay really calm,” Viveka said. “I just think about exactly what’s happening, what the situation is, and what I have to do to fix the direct problem. I think that’s a much more efficient way of fixing things.”

Viveka’s friends also described her as somebody to whom they prefer to talk to about any difficulties they’re going through because they believe in her balanced thought process. Viveka’s close friend Arjun Duraivenkatesh (10) describes her as being “incredibly sympathetic” and sums up her persona as a “very positive influence,” while her close friend Claire Newman (12) characterizes Viveka as “intelligent” and “always being down for an adventure.”

“Viveka has a very unique perspective on how she sees the world and just the way she speaks, and the way her brain works is so unique from anyone else I’ve ever encountered in my life,” Claire said. “That’s one of the things I love most about her.”

Viveka’s good mood and insightful perspective comes from her daily habit of listening to music every single morning. She believes that the music provides adrenaline that gets her ready for the day as well as widens her worldly views through the lyrics.

“A lot of music is like poetry to me. Words can hold emphasis or meaning by themselves, but they’re also used in particular fashions to convey specific meanings,” Viveka said. “If you understand that, you understand what the song means and what the person’s going through. [Songs are] all just stories to me.”

Music is an important part of Viveka’s personality, and she uses it to bring joy to her classmates and friendships through the energy she gets from it. Viveka’s advisor, English teacher Christopher Hurshman, remembers moments in advisory when the vitality and good-spirit that she brings gets the group to become invested in the bigger picture of their fleeting time together.

“Especially over the years that I’ve known her, she’s become more frustrated and impatient with things that don’t seem meaningful or genuine, and I really admire that about her,” Hurshman said. “I appreciate the fact that she wants to be authentic and wants to pursue the things that are genuinely meaningful to her.”

Viveka’s belief in focusing on what matters in the long run versus what will not make a difference in a few years stems from her growing ability to not worry so much about what other people have to say about her.

“It’s not worth anyone’s time to worry about what other people choose to do or how they choose to express themselves. I trust that [people] realize everybody is an individual that expresses themself the way they feel most comfortable,” Viveka said. “Faith in that fact makes me feel more confident and less paranoid in what other people think about the way I act or live my life.”

Having faith in herself and her own personal values allows Viveka to enjoy her day-to-day activities. She also credits faith with getting herself through difficult times and reflects on how if she does not have faith in herself, then it’s going to be harder for her to get through that particularly tough circumstance.

“Everyone’s stronger than they give themselves credit for. It’s super important for every one of us, who are all super scared, to get out of our own heads,” Viveka said. “We need to realize that the reason we are sitting there being scared when there’s things we could be doing to make out lives better is just a matter of breaking down personal boundaries.”