By Jenny Tran
“Ariana Rathan: An Autobiography,” junior Ariana Rathan said when asked what she would title her own autobiography. She then continued on to say that she was kidding and would never title it like that.
“When I was younger, my mom always told me never to be like other people and never to copy them,” Rathan said.
Rathan has evidently followed this notion all through her life—she continuously seeks nothing but utter and limitless passion for things she does. She doesn’t hesitate to freely express herself through her diversity of hobbies, seemingly not allowing herself to be limited by any restraints.
It’s no surprise, then, that one of Rathan’s favorite movies is “Dead Poets Society,” which follows members of an all boys’ school who are restricted from expressing themselves until an English teacher encourages them through poetry. Her other favorite movie is “La La Land,” a love story between a pianist and an artist intertwined through a colorful musical.
Complementary to her movie interests, Rathan goes through a lively, passionate catalogue of activities on a day-to-day basis. This Beyonce-and-70s-lover labels herself as a shameless theater kid and has been fervently doing dance ever since she was a child.
Rathan’s most notable passion is her unadulterated love for writing. One of her biggest dreams is to become a writer, and she is currently planning to major in either English or journalism when she gets to college, which is, for her, hopefully either New York University (NYU) or Berkeley.
But, to reach the summit, Rathan is still climbing to the top by focusing immensely on her academics.
“I know junior year is very hard,” Rathan said. “I want to try my best and make my mark.”
Some of her goals in this journey include getting above a 4.0, being more involved at school and improving her writing and reading in preparation for the SAT. Rathan is also the vice president of the Assistance League of Huntington Beach and is a worship leader at her church.
Apart from working hard at school and at her extracurriculars, some of Rathan’s favorite pastimes are hanging out with her friends, volunteering and buying food from Trader Joes. She can also eat chicken bowls practically every day without getting tired of them.
And, Rathan is notoriously a people-person.
“I just love talking to people and getting to know them because I’m a writer and I love stories,” Rathan said. “So, I feel like every person has a story.”
Rathan especially connects with people who have a passion and love for life. One of her greatest inspirations is her eighth grade history teacher, who recently beat breast cancer.
“She always told me I could do anything I wanted to,” Rathan said.
Rathan is determined to do just that. In fact, she already has a detailed vision for her future. Once she gets into either NYU or Berkeley to study writing, she plans to live in a quaint, comfortable apartment with brick walls filled with carefully-picked out plants and string lights. Her meals will consist of chicken bowls and her routines will include going to Trader Joes and possibly meeting a mysterious guy. One day, her penned fantasy may soon transform into a tangible, livable reality—one of her stories finally come to life.
So, while her initial autobiography title doesn’t exactly capture the relentlessly ardent world that lives in Rathan, it’s probably safe to say that no title great enough really can.