Greeted with a “Thanks! You’re all signed in!” by the instructor scanning her membership keycard, Radhika Jain (12) heads into the locker room, takes off her chocolate-colored Rainbow flip-flops and grabs her mat, water bottle and towel. A rush of heat hits her face as she enters the studio. Lying on her mat, she closes her eyes and breathes deeply as she waits for the class to begin.

Searching for an outlet to relax and destress, Radhika found her perfect medium this past summer when one of her best friends Adhya Hoskote (12) introduced her to CorePower Yoga. 

“I cannot tell you how much [CorePower Yoga] has changed my life,” Radhika said. “Not only am I able to stay active, I’m also able to stay in tune with myself and take an hour out of my day every day to just be present with myself, not worrying about anything outside the yoga studio, and only reflecting about where I am as a person and how I’ve grown as a person.” 

The first time Adhya introduced her to yoga was in the gym in Radhika’s basement as a means to cool down after running on the treadmill. After Radhika took her first class and loved it, the best friend duo took a class together every day during the summer.

“We didn’t talk during the class, but just having each other’s presence was soothing,” Adhya said. “It was like a support system in the class and a sense of familiarity.”

Radhika’s close friend Nikki Solanki (12) characterizes empathy as Radhika’s greatest quality, describing her as “one of the best listeners” and “always laughing.” 

“We went for a drive for an hour, and we didn’t even talk — we just played music super loud,” Nikki said. “To have that kind of connection with someone where you don’t necessarily need to be talking or don’t always need to be doing something, and we both felt so good after, is something that is so valuable and memorable.”

As more of a listener than a speaker, Radhika has figured out how to best represent herself, not through vocalizing her thoughts, but rather by staying true to her values. 

Starting with a miniature pink notepad with an attached pen in second grade to whatever is at hand now — her phone, her laptop or just a piece of paper — journaling has been an important part of Radhika’s life, allowing her to express herself in a way that isn’t public.

“I don’t like to particularly speak about my feelings, but I love to write them down and keep them close to me. [Journaling has] shaped who I am and allowed me to have a voice without using my voice,” Radhika said. “I can write about anything I want because the only person that’s reading it is me, so the only person that gets to judge it is me.”

Having tried many different extracurriculars, hobbies and interests, none of them stayed with Radhika as much as journaling did. 

“Writing anything and everything was, and still is, a staple in my life, whether it was just jotting down thoughts from my day, pouring out my feelings, or writing a short story,” she said. “As I grew up, journaling was one of the only things that really stuck with me.”

Giving back to her community has been an integral part of Radhika’s life, from making and selling Rainbow Loom rubber band bracelets to raise money to donate to the Family Giving Tree in sixth grade, to teaching underprivileged children in eighth grade, to spearheading a fundraiser for Hurricane Harvey victims.

“I realized that loving without limits and being open to helping anyone through any situation is powerful,” she said. “There’s no limit to how much you can give back to the community. The more you give back, the more your presence is felt by other people, and that’s what drives me to keep going.”

In sophomore year, Radhika, along with close friend Allison Jia (12), organized a banner to support the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland, Florida. Through placing the banner at California’s DECA state conference where members from all over California could sign it and write words of encouragement, Radhika and Allison brought the California DECA community together as well as established a bond between California and Florida, despite being over 2,500 miles away.

“It hit us harder than normal because a few of the victims were actually members of their MSD DECA chapter, so just seeing the connection even though they’re across the country from us between our chapter and their chapter really touched our hearts,” she said. “We felt that we needed to do something to show our solidarity against such tragedies.”

Radhika’s kindness, ability to see the value in others and her positive energy are noticed by her friends as well as her teachers. 

“I watched her work with my advisory this year on Link Crew, and her ability to communicate and pay attention to the group is amazing. She just has a way of stepping in and making people feel comfortable,” mathematics teacher Jane Keller said. “I’ve watched Radhika grow from somebody who was a little shy and not quite sure about herself and who she was into somebody who is very comfortable in who she is.”

Growing up, Radhika and her brother, Raghav Jain (‘16), had very different personalities; while he tended to go with the flow and live in the moment, she worried about what was coming up in the future or what happened in the past. Since then, she has adopted the value of letting life go as it is and focusing on the now.

“It’s all about mindsets for me. I try to live on my own terms by doing things that make me happy, surrounding myself with people that encourage my growth and trying to find the positives out of situations. Reflecting on where I am now and how I can be the best current version of myself is something I prioritize instead of the past or the future,” Radhika said. “It’s more important to live in the moment, focusing on what to do now and how to help make an impact now because otherwise, you’re never going to get anything done in life.”