Keeping Up With Maya -- Week 1
Hi! My name is Maya (read more about my double life on my Free to Dream Author's Bio and maristi.com) and I’ll be documenting my week through weekly blog posts on Free To Dream Magazine. This week I tried something I never thought I would. Morning showers.
Monday @ School: Morning shower. Flowy cropped black pants, green & blue t-shirt. Thrifted leather jacket with the iconic pins that my best friend gave me. Heeled boots.
Lunch w/ my best friends in the caf. Skipped gym, geometry quiz.
2:33 - Run (NOT WALK) home. Change outfit: gingham pants & sneakers - kept the green/blue top & the jacket.
2:55 - train to NYC.
3:45 - arrived at Penn Station. Freezing and beautiful. Today I was shooting behind the scenes content & assisting @madiatkins on a shoot for a big clothing brand. This time the location was midtown, closer to the Empire State Building. We shot the model around the area, went back to HQ and got new looks, went back out to shoot more and repeat. I learned how to use a Nespresso coffee machine on one of the changing breaks.
Tuesday @ School: Morning shower. Feeling GREAT!
Wednesday @ School: Participated in the National School Walkout, and documented the protest for Free To Dream, Adolescent Content, Mid Century Modern & Verve Magazine. At 10:00 am, my whole class walked out of class. Stood outside and had students speak and share their opinions about gun safety to the school and parents watching.
Thursday @ School: Sent in all photos from the walkout and they were published in the online magazines. Science test.
Friday @ School: Black flowy shirt off the shoulder shirt with jeans.
2:33 - The sidewalks were extremely messy and snowy and icy, so my mom picked up my friend and I this time so we didn’t have to walk to the train station.
2:55 - Train to NYC with Anna, applied gifted Glossier products, talked about boys from school, and got excited about our busy weekends.
3:45 - Arrive. Walked out of Penn Station to Aventura by Mavi Pheonix. Anna and I had 30 mins to get to Lucie Fink from Refinery 29’s apartment, which was only around 5 blocks away.
4:10- 5 mins till we have to meet Lucie. Anna and I passed Buffalo Exchange (thrift store in NYC) and we NEEDED to make a stop. We had 3 mins to make a run around the store and 2 mins to get to Lucie’s.
4:15 - Made it! Shot another content package for Lucie Fink from Refinery 29 at her apt, roof and by the Flatiron building. On top of the world on her roof! We were 32 floors up when it was 32 degrees and WINDYYY!! To our left was the Empire State building, and to our right the rest of the city, and you could see everything from up there!
After the shoot Anna and I went back to Buffalo Exchange, got the clothes we hid from before and went back to Penn to go home. Dollar hot dogs & two donuts each for our dinner. We’ve been snacking throughout the shoot from gifts we were given so not that hungry.
Saturday -
Wake up. Drive to city. Breakfast with dad in LES. I had a consulting meeting with a startup company, and gave some advice @ Cafe Reggio. Cappuccino. 9:55 when we ended and had to RUN to my 10 am class at Parsons. After class I had another meeting, then went down to Washington Square Park to have a light lunch. Had a phone call with a big company regarding our project, then walked to cycling class. Ate some chocolate covered almonds on the way. After cycling, subwayed back to Penn to go home early.
About the Author
Maya Aristimuno is a sophomore in high school living a double life. During the day she’s at school, trying to get through history lectures without falling asleep, and after school, she hops a train to NYC to do photo shoots for big brands and influencers. She started her own creative agency a year ago when she was 15. So far, she’s already created content package and campaigns with influencers from Refinery 29, shot for brands like Alice & Olivia, Cynthia Rowley, and tons of modeling agencies in the city. She's also had work published in online and print magazines like Vogue Italy, Saperlipopette, Affinity, Kaleo and more. Maya’s agency also owns a magazine that the agency’s art department runs called MIM Magazine. When Maya’s in Montclair, she feels different than when she’s in the city. She gets ignored by the upperclassmen, and hardly has any classes with her friends. Not many people at her school even know that she has a creative agency. Stay tuned to read her journals on the week. In both lifestyles! OOTDs will be school outfits and city outfits. Follow Maya on Instagram to see more @maristi!
