Maya happens to be a close friend of mine and really is about this life. On and offline, Maya dedicates her life to improving and changing the course of Black women’s lives. Maya is currently creating a curriculum for and to be taught to inner city kids in underserved neighborhoods. However, Maya emphasized digital storytelling and positive imagery online. Since the women she serves may not be exposed to positive and affirming black imagery, Maya works to change that through her personal social media account by sharing black women in unconventional spaces, black women loving on one other, and just being joyous together. With Maya’s presence online, she serves a blueprint for a life (and lifestyle) that’s possible for girls from the hood. She proudly reps her city and finds the balance between remembering where she comes from and giving back to it. She believes she can honor who she was while simultaneously showing girls that their current reality is not their final destination. Maya uses the power of social media to meet her target audience where they are to show them it’s possible to be from the hood but not of the hood.