By Candice Tran
In a crazy and hectic, competitive world, freshman Natalie Boutros’ perfect and chill day consists of sitting at the beach and eating her favorite foods, while listening to all genres of music then coming home and sleeping until she’s satisfied.
Boutros has a calm spirit and would enjoy being stuck in a room with any fantasy book character for the fun conversations they would have. For Boutros, reading just clicked. After watching a movie one summer, she picked up the corresponding book and breezed through six additional books before school started back up.
Despite being a fan of a nice, chill day, Boutros wouldn’t mind checking some things off her adventurous bucket list. She would love to study abroad, skydive or visit her extended family in Egypt.
“I was born in Egypt, but we had to leave because of conflict. It wasn’t safe … but I would like to go back and visit my family,” Boutros said. “We came [to America] when I was only three … and we just kind of, had to adjust everything.”
For Boutros, family is an important part of her life. Her mom, dad and sister have inspired her in many ways. They’ve affected her approach and outlook towards life; her days are always filled with kindness, humility and hard work as a tribute to her family.
“[My sister] is very hard-working. She’s very diligent … She’s what I strive to be in my work ethic. I’d say my dad’s also the same way. He’s done so much for us. My mom’s kindness towards others … and the way she just goes through life makes me want to be like her,” Boutros said.
While a lot of love goes around in her family, so does fun. One of Boutros’ core memories was a small scheme at her grandparents’ house with her dad, grandpa and sister.
“My mom and my grandma [had gone] to sleep, and so my dad and grandpa snuck me and my sister out [to the living room],” Boutros said. “We weren’t supposed to be having sweets and stuff that late, but they brought out chips, candy and ice cream.”
As her high school years have only just begun, Boutros is excited to meet new people, write about the things she’s passionate about and make new memories through Baron Banner.
“I wanted to try to be more social because I’m not a super social person so I want to try to get myself out there,” Boutros said.