According to the Channel 4 show, Science of Attraction, an experiment has shown that you can decipher who a person is by the sound of their voice alone. You can have a mental image of a person’s physical characteristics and even their personality by just listening to them. It is insightful that this theory is proving to be somewhat true because after listening to Maia Witter for a few minutes, I was able to mentally create a demure young lady from her quiet but slightly raspy voice. As a twenty-year-old, NCU Communication (television) major, she is in the exciting discovery phase of defining Maia Witter. And though this is an evolutionary process, continuous and dynamic, already she is exemplifying the expression, ‘likkle but tallawah.’ Her loose and poofy curly hair that frames her slender face gives vision to the next Oprah in the Jamaican sphere.
Though quiet and introverted, she can transform into an extroverted and assertive woman with important things to say. It is no surprise that the dream of being a television talk show host or journalist has been implanted as a child, and it was during that period she dreamed about hosting through many mock sessions in the mirror. She admires people such as local personality, Susan from the Susan Show and American TV host/personality, Ellen DeGeneres. Today, she takes advantage of the many opportunities given to her at Brinkley Seventh Day Adventist church to host programs. One of her most prideful moments is successfully completing an introduction to television course. One of her assignments was to produce a show. Things do not always go as planned and as the writer, impromptu she had to become the director and changed the script as well. What was amazing was doing this spontaneously and the feature presentation attracted a good grade and applause. Destiny is already preparing her.
Life would not be interesting without challenges, and this dynamite is already learning to embrace life without regrets and deal with the ugly and sometimes painful parts of life. Take for instance her Scoliosis. This is a sideway curvature of the spine which may have a noticeable hump. She was officially diagnosed in 2014. As a thirteen-year-old, this was a major bump to her self-esteem and self-image. Furthermore, she was overly self-conscious about her slim physique. She was not comfortable in her own shell. Social media made it even harder because of the manipulated images of perfection. How could she be beautiful and confident with this ‘deformity?’ Oftentimes this would be covered up with baggy clothes and the constant reservations and insecurities. Soon, she would come to the realization that she will have to learn to deal with this ‘deformity.’ Surgery is not necessary and as a result, gradually she is learning to love and accept all of herself. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, this challenge has birthed her initiative of a podcast. From this podcast, she hopes her platform can encourage and empower people as well as herself to practice self-love and self-acceptance.
In these times where social media portrays manipulated images of glossy beauty and perfection (both in body image and lifestyle), she is taking control of her definition of beauty and self, learning to be confident, loving and accepting of who is Maia Witter. She inspires others to do the same, and most importantly, she encourages young people not to be pressured into defining one’s self through the lens of social media.
