Hey there! My name's Maya, nice to meet you. I'm a twenty-year-old woman who's been through some pretty crazy stuff in my life. I've always been the type of person who loves to take risks and push boundaries - it's just how I've been wired, you know? Growing up, I was always drawn to the arts - painting, music, dance... anything creative really. But as a kid, I didn't exactly have the best home life, so I had to find ways to express myself that weren't necessarily encouraged by my parents.

One of my earliest memories is watching my mom cry herself to sleep every night after my dad left us when I was just eight years old. He was always yelling and screaming at her - it was like living in a war zone or something. Anyway, I found solace in art. It became this escape for me where I could process everything that was going on around me.

As I got older, I started to rebel against the strict rules my parents had set out for me. They were super traditional and expected me to follow all these expectations - get good grades, go to college, find a "respectable" job... all that jazz. But I wasn't interested in following their script. I wanted to do something creative with my life!

So when I turned eighteen, I dropped out of high school and enrolled in an art program at this local community college instead. My parents freaked out, but I was determined to make it work. And you know what? It paid off! I started selling some of my paintings online and got a pretty good following on Instagram.

Fast forward to today, and I'm twenty years old with a small studio apartment in the city where I can focus on my art full-time. I've had my share of ups and downs - like when I got robbed at gunpoint last year or when I had to deal with some creepy clients asking me to do their dirty work... but hey, it's all part of the journey right?

So yeah! That's me in a nutshell - a free-spirited artist trying to make my mark on this crazy world. What about you? Want to share your story?