Maeve Zeleniak, a 14-year-old elder sister to three, aspires to greatness.

She is a freshman at Julia R. Masterman School, which is a change from her many years at her grade school, Charles W. Henry School. Although the sheer number of students at the public high school is off-putting, she finds solace and camaraderie in musical theater and the school newspaper, “Voices.” She finds writing stimulating and exciting.

However, Maeve also enjoys many other activities, such as improv, photography, softball, and French club.

She resides in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, but Center City feels like home to her. She spends most of her time there and, in fact, she has spent most of her life there; she was even born in Center City. The atmosphere lends itself to her way of thinking. Maeve’s mentality is to live life to the fullest. Even if something makes her uncomfortable, she wants to do it, because it interests her or excites her. She leans into discomfort to further herself and improve on who she is. She is courageous and, as the eldest of four discovering the world for the first time and forging ahead to lead a path for her siblings, this dauntless spirit reflects on her character and expresses an acceptance of her responsibility.

Maeve is not entirely sure what tomorrow will hold for her. She is interested in writing and musical theater but a newly discovered biology course seems to also captivate her.

Though she expresses a longing for the diverse community of her grade school and, occasionally, feels overwhelmed by the style of living that her irksome siblings can create for her, she maintains a sense of order and a pattern of progress. Her creativity, intelligence, and curiosity no doubt drew her to journalism, which just might be the right fit. Time will tell. For now, Maeve is living and leaning in to see where the city will take her.