The first thing you should know about Xia (Chi-a) that you would never know unless you were fortunate enough to spend time in her enlightening presence is that this girl has style and pizazz beyond your wildest dreams. She is a cluster of energy, intelligence and whimsical fun that we often think we have to lose as we stop playing in the leaves and dressing up as princesses. Somehow she has bypassed this false ideology in the world that we have to grow up in order to show as an intelligent being and has merged all sides.

I met Xia in a literature and social violence seminar at school that we were fortunate enough to take with only ten other students and the greatest and most compassionate professor known to mankind, Cathy Comstock. After being blown away by her insights over the semester, I invited Xia to have lunch with and asked if I could interview her. Because she is Xia, she cocked her head and in her melodic, German and Mexican merged with American accent said “of course.”

Over persian food…

Kaila: Where did you grow up?

Xia: I grew up in Mexico in a tiny village that had crazy Aztec weekends of dance and color. My family was really poor and I grew up in a barrio. My grandmother would wake up at four in the morning to sell food and I would go along and dance before going back and I would spend the rest of the day being chased by the turkeys and chickens.

Kaila: What is your family like?

Xia: Well, my mothers side is Mexican and they are always late! My father, who is German, was always frustrated.

Kaila: How did your parents meet?

Xia: At a conference about water safety that my mom was attending as a sociologist and dad attended as an engineer. My dad is very root and knows where everything is and my mom is connected, thats how they fell in love. My German side cleans it up, it’s where my MCDB major comes from while my Mexican said is absolute chaos which is my humanities side. And my great granddad was a famous physicist and was friends with Albert Einstein.

Kaila: Tell me about your mom

Xia: My moms hair defines the space she is in. She won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for an IPPC report on global change with Al Gore. But you would never expect that from her.

Kaila: Do you hope your like her?

Xia: I am her. I am my mother and I’ve always been. My family has a cruse where we look like our grandparents, but not our parents. No one will claim my nose. My nose is not up for grabs, its been abandoned.

Kaila: You’re graduating in a year, what are your plans?

Xia: Go to medical school in Cuba or complete a masters in public health in India (Kerala).

Kaila: I have three last questions for you.

Where have you been?

I’ve been to two homes, seventeen countries and five nation states.

Where are you now?

A little lost, but I like it.

Where are you going?

I’m going to go meet up with my best friend. We always meet up halfway through the year in a new country and go on adventures. This year is no different.