Watty Interviews! what's the Dirt?

ReaperKylie Interview #3

The majority of "teens" here on wattpad like to read student teacher relationships. So being the person i am, when i was stalking Wattpad i found this amazing writer. Her story "i'm Married... " is rather fantastic. i would even say that it's my F A V. yep. i said it. And what's amazing is that I've had the oppotunity to talk to the person / writer beind this story....

Hello Maraiya

Welcome Maraiya to Watty Interviews. I'm Sebastian, your humble host and it's an absolute pleasure having you here today.

Hi. It’s nice for you to have me.

2)      Maraiya, I have to say this. The name that you have chosen for yourself on wattpad sounds as if it originated from Japan. Just the last name has a very strong Japanese sound to it. It’s quite unique, so I was wondering whether there was anything behind this name that you have chosen for yourself. Does it reveal to your audience / fans where your heritage comes from?

Actually, I'm not Japanese but I love the culture and I'm totally in love with the idea of moving there. Hopefully, I can move there one day. So that's why I chose my name.

3)      Japanese culture is very unique and interesting. I myself find very much attracted to it. Japan would be an interesting place to move to especially to Tokyo. It would be a major cultural shock. Why did you chose this particular name?

I actually put my name on Google translate and that's what came up. As for the last name, Kobayashi means "small forest" and when I was small, I used to imagine myself living in a forest. I don't know why but I did and when I saw it I was like, "This name is perfect!" Maraiya Kobayashi isn't my real name though.

4)      That’s a very interesting way of picking a name for you. Your profile says that you are currently 17 yours old. So how long have you been writing for?

Well, I started writing when I was 14 during my senior year in middle school. However, I've always had an active imagination.

5)      That is fairly recent, and an active imagination always helps an author. Tell us a bit about the first story you ever wrote...

Wow…um... the first story I wrote. Well, I wanted to write something personal to me so I wrote "What America Said" which is about a Muslim girl who lives in a divided and racist America and she tells the story of all the discrimination she went to, but also I didn't want to make this into just a regular story so I added some thriller into it too. Well, basically the main character deals with three major problems. I already said racism, but she also deals with a mental disease and an American terrorist group... all at the same time. It’s kind of complicated but if you read it, it'll make more sense. I used to have it on wattpad but took it out because it needed editing and also I plan to publish it later.

6)      To be perfectly honest that story sounds like a masterpiece. And I truly hope that you upload it again on to wattpad. It is not everyday that you get to read a story that goes along those lines. Your profile mentions the difficulties you had to go through as someone growing up and they possibly are what make “what America said” close to your heart and rather personal. Do you think these experiences you had growing up made you a better person? How do you think those experiences affected you?

Let’s see.. When I was younger, things did not come easily to me. When I asked for something, I couldn't get it. I didn't have much of a social life either because my parents would constantly remind me that education was #1 and friends second. So that meant, I could barely see my friends. However, that kind of affected me because now I find it hard to communicate with people, and when people talk to me, I feel incredibly anxious because I wouldn't know how to respond. I have more of a social life now, but it's not so much different as before. Anyway, yeah, school was supposed to be my number 1 thing. Everything I did, I did by myself. I had no one to help me. No role model or parent to tell me that they would be willing to help me. Plus, on top of that, I had to deal with bullying a lot. I still remember one of the nicknames they gave me. Mariah Cariah. That was not fun. They gave me that nickname because I would always cry a lot. Then, I was bullied even further when my parents one day told me that I would now live my life as a Muslim. Then, they put a head scarf on my head and when I came back to school with it, I was constantly being harassed. They gave me new nick names like towel head and all that crap. It took me all the way to 8th grade for me to want to kill myself. Luckily, I'm still alive. But all in all, to some up everything, yeah, it all made me the person I am today. Today, I am a person who just wants to try her hardest. I look back at life back then and think, "Wow, I feel bad for them." Because without those hardships, I would have never learned what it means to grow up and the people who bullied me now have the most miserable lives ever. Also, the friends that I have now are not bad too. They are true friends who share the same ideas as me and I feel lucky because I don’t have a crowd of friends like everyone else who use them and stab them in the back. My experiences have taught me to be wise with my life. Do you understand?