KVASHA, Nadia A.

[nadia kvasha]

NADIA AMINA KVASHA

_{NOTHING TO DO, NOWHERE TO GO
I WANNA BE SEDATED}

_____________________________

NICKNAME: "Nay"
AGE & BIRTHDAY: 21 (11/03/1991)
HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL but we moved A LOT when I was younger.
RESIDENCE: I'm between cities at the moment and I'm new to LA so I've been couch surfing.
PROFESSION: Aspiring Artist
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

LIKES - art galleries, photography, drama, classical music, bars, British people, thrifting, Santigold, punk rock, new wave, blues, soul, EDM, Westcoast rap, Black Hippy, Icona Pop, Kanye West, house parties, painting, sculpting, pyramids, chocolate, girl bands or girl lead bands, yogurt, fruit salads, purple, warm weather, live music, Harry Potter, old movies, home videos, None Billboard Top 100 pop music, original cap'n crunch, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, swimwear, lingerie, indie films, indie music, , old family photos, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dancing, traveling, rain, reading, writing, piercings, learning about different religions, and nerdy white guys... weakness!

DISLIKES - Army fatigue, homophobia, racism, stereotypes, Taylor Swift, cats, hypocrites, ignorance, snobs, Southern accents, people from Chicago, extremists, conspiracies, hype beasts, meat that has a sweet taste, pink, being wrong, obnoxious people, rudeness, math, the smell of latex, having to drive, clubs, sports cars, nude or brown anything, loud noises, people who think instagram is photography, the zoo, clowns, and getting my period.

5 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME -

WHY THE CITY LIFE?

I’ve never not lived in a big city unless you count my four years in college living in Poughkeepsie, New York. Other than that I’d say why not the city life. I think that it’s kind of sad when people are confined in small ass towns where there is no diversity or culture. Anyway, I like the city life because there are more opportunities and there’s just so many people that someone could get to know. I do believe in the idea that if you’ve been in the city for too long then it starts to become small anyway. Still, I couldn’t deal with being in a small town or a city that doesn’t even have 200,000 people.

DESCRIBE THE FEEL OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

Well I am currently living on my friend’s couch near Venice and the overall vibe is a little gritty. There’s a lot of beach bums around here so in a sense it’s peaceful. However at night it can be a little sketchy when people just come out and stand around. Everyone sort of knows each other in this neighborhood and it’s very no bullshit around here. I’ve never been the type to be frightened by that because I’ve had my fair share of sketchy people in my life so getting passed all that I think that my neighborhood is actually a hidden gem. A lot of people don’t come around, it’s very much locals only and I also like how it’s getting me accustomed to the Los Angeles lifestyle. I feel very Lords of Dogtown-esque here. It makes me want to surf. All and all it reminds me a lot of where I've lived in the past, it reminds me a little bit about college where everyone kind of gives each other a chance here. Where I come from it's not always so "High School Musical".

WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU MADE IN THE PAST 5 YEARS?

The last five years were the best and worst years of my life. Four of those five years I’ve spent in college and met really amazing people. I received a BFA in Studio Art which is my passion and because of going to Vassar I’ve gotten to study abroad and be in the company of so much beauty and creativity. On the downside too many people have died in my life. It started with my eldest brother in 2010, my dad died in 2012, and couple of weeks before our graduation a very good friend from Vassar had an accidental overdose (even though people claim it was a suicide). So yeah, a lot has happened to me but I think that it’s a good change for me. Yeah, I did wonder who else would go but it really made me really appreciate family and friends which is also why I’m in Los Angeles. I'm trying to get back a sense of family and right now I just sort of feel numb to things but I know that when I talk about this with Adam that things will come out. Yayyyy baggage!~

HOW CAN SOMEONE TELL IF YOU'RE LYING OR GUILTY?

The only person who could tell when I was lying was my brother Daniel—Adam I’m not entirely sure of. Maybe he can tell when I’m lying, maybe not but Daniel was the only one who confronted me about it. He told me that when I’m lying I tend to say “so yeah” and I drag the last word in my sentenceeeeee. I also tend to smile as if I’m trying to get someone to believe me. When I was told that I was absolutely stunned but ever since he died I’ve noticed it a lot more, luckily the people that I might be telling a small lie to doesn’t really notice.

DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL MORALS:

“Stand up for something or fall for anything”. I really believe in standing up for myself and my beliefs no matter the situation. I know what it’s like to sacrifice so much for someone else and settling for something less than what I deserve, I also know what it’s like to be seen and not heard and I guess after growing up I’ve vowed to stand up for myself no matter what. More importantly, I believe in standing up for my beliefs at all costs. It’s just…not fun having other believe this lie that you might be okay with something that you’re really not okay with and then somewhere down the line things get fucked up and you look like an idiot. I don’t really sit back and think about morals and beliefs but standing up for myself and standing up for things that I feel strongly about are two things that I’ve vowed to always do. Then there’s the notion that if you don’t you’ll look like a punk. Aside from that I believe in loyalty and family over everything.

HOW MIGHT SOMEONE ATTRACT YOUR ATTENTION?

It’s not hard to attract my attention because I think that I’m always on guard. My default setting is to be on guard. Anyway, if you were trying to get me to like you it all starts with appearance. I like people who don’t try to hard but they also don’t look bad either. I’m not a label whore and I’m not the type of girl to study fashion magazines but I do put a lot into what I wear on a daily basis. I don’t plan outfits the day before but I make sure I look well put together. Anyway! I want a guy who does the same. Don’t come to me sagging or wearing super tight jeans where I can see your penis print. After appearance I like to see a guy with a nice smile and I’m a sucker for the eyes. If a guy smiles to me then I instantly melt because a guy smile is like a tiny gift from God since guys try to act so tough. Then I heavily judge people based off of their tastes in books, movies, music, and art. I think that I’m naturally drawn to people who can teach me new things—positive things though!.

ONE LOVES OR MANY LOVES? WHY?

I’d rather have many loves. I don’t want you to think I’m a slut or anything so just hear me out. I know what it’s like to lose people who are close to you and the feeling is something that you will always remember and something that will most likely never go away. I had this repeated feeling in a three year span. When you meet someone or some people who you have bonds with or could potentially restore any sort of feeling in your heart then I say go for it. I don’t think that screwing around or letting drugs or alcohol fill any sort of void but I do believe in getting to know and courting multiple people. I’m a little scared of losing people, I’ll admit that. Still, love is a nice feeling and it makes people happy so I’d say go with a lot of it.

A FAVORITE KIND OF KISS?

I like being kissed on my forehead or on my shoulder because those are really tender and sweet. I used to makeout a lot back in the day though because for some reason kisses get me more excited than actual sex. There’s just something about sitting around and making out with someone you’re really into. I do really like those clichéd kisses where you look into each other’s eyes and somewhere in the distance you hear the soft music with dramatic dialogue and then you realize that the only thing left to do is kiss. I also like kisses where the both of us are in sync. I can’t stand going in for a normal kiss and the guy I’m kissing opens their mouth prematurely or if our teeth clash against each other… This is a weird question though, I don’t think that I’ve ever say around thinking about what kind of kisses I like.

WOULD YOU RATHER RELIVE YOUR GREATEST MOMENT OR REDO YOUR WORST MISTAKE? EXPLAIN.

Hmm this is an interesting question but I think the answer is really obvious. My greatest moments have never hurt anyone—at least not that I know of so I don’t want to alter anything about them or relive them. However, my mistakes are different. I don’t think that I have any true regrets but I think everyone has something they wish they could take back which could possibly make their lives much easier than it is now. I’d rather go back and redo my worst memory. I think everything happens for a reason though and since my day went relatively well I don’t have anything that specifically stands out to me as something that could be redone. Still I’m aware of the saying “If only I’d known what I know today”. I'd actually rather not relive anything though, I just let things happen. (stolen from spencer lol)

FATHER: Milan Kvasha, (deceased 11/6/12 at 59)
MOTHER: Asma Kvasha (nee Kakar), 51
SIBLINGS: Daniel Kvasha (deceased 8/14/10 at 24), Adam Kvasha, 24
EXTENDED: Roma Kakar, grandmother, deceased
Namir Kakar, grandfather
Maryna Kvasha, grandmother
Vyacheslav Kvasha, grandfather
Sabrina Kvasha, widow/sister-in-law, 26
Aaron Kvasha, nephew, 3
PETS: Reza, Pug

"Kind of a mess"

Did you ever look at your family and think about how messed up it is and wonder if it was like this all this time and you were just too young to notice? That perfectly describes me. It’s funny, I was reading somewhere that childhood is a kingdom where no one dies and no one gets hurt and now I completely see why one would think that. My story starts on November 3, 1991. I was born to Milan and Asma Kvasha, the youngest of three children and the only girl in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago was one of many stops in my entire childhood. I remember my younger years being happy, I had this aura of being extremely well taken care of and looking back I thought that every time we moved was a new adventure. The days of us being really unpredictable and constantly moving is a blur to me because I was too young to remember or care. My family is pretty eclectic—I’m Afghan, Serbian, and Chechen which made for a pretty traditional home.

Being the only girl I was naturally different. Barbies, tutus, dolls, and flowers were the only things I really cared about. I was a very loud and boisterous child but I was always well mannered and whenever Daddy was around I seemed to be even better behaved. As a kid I was terrified of my father but as I got older I saw that he was just a very serious man. When it came to my brothers I was a tad obsessed with them. I wanted to do everything that they got to do and I wanted to go everywhere they got to go even though they were older. Sometimes I actually want to cry when I think of this but I remember Daniel being the shining star to Daddy which I’m not jealous of at all. What makes me upset was how as a child I even noticed how Daddy treated Adam different. For much of my life that was my main role, making sure everyone felt happy and included. For much of my childhood I played the “little sister” or “daughter” role that was expected to do girly things but as I got older it was hard for me to figure out what kind of woman I would become. I remember thinking that after a while Daniel became inaccessible—it was hard for him to really make time for me and we just naturally stopped having things in common when I became old enough to talk back to our parents.

From an early age I was interested in art, more specifically painting, printmaking, and photography. My painting skills were always beyond typical finger painting or making sure everything stayed within the lines. Because of similar interests I became more interested in what Adam was doing and it was almost as if I could feel a change of heart towards him. It’s interesting how looking back I remember following and wanting to be around Daniel and now that I’m older things just changed so drastically. By the time I was thirteen I thought we would be settling down but it seemed as though things were only getting worse. By then I was a straight-A student and on the right path but within the year my parents sat us down and told us that they will be getting a divorce. Suddenly I was being asked about who I wanted to live with—I chose my mother out of natural instinct. What child wouldn’t? I remember the moving day like it was yesterday. For a while I wondered why Adam was just moping around the house not really interested in what we were doing before I was told he would be staying. Words cannot express how horrified I was. For me that was the worst thing that could have ever happened to our family. I remember crying but then I thought of the stability of living with my mother. I wrote both brothers on a steady basis while living in Westchester but having the constant attention of my mother matched with my smart mouth didn’t bode well for our relationship. After six months of us living together I moved to New York City to live with my father.

My father and I lived in Hell’s Kitchen in a reasonably priced apartment. While receiving scholarships and grants I went to a really good college prep school where I focused a lot more on arts. Living in New York City was perfect for me. I got to see the art scene and the only requirements from Daddy was that I make good grades and don’t get pregnant. New York City was finally the home I was looking for and it was a lot easier for me to not be angry at either one of my brothers because for once I was living my own life. I graduated high school in 2009 from Trinity and I remember that Easter I was baptized into Catholic faith. I remember doing it just because it seemed like the right thing to do since Trinity is a Catholic school, I never took religion seriously. For college it came down to either Wellesley or Vassar, both of them were extremely selective but I applied to both. After heavy consideration and an even heavier financial offer from Vassar I decided to go there—it also helped that it was in New York so if I missed the City too much I could always go home. College was something that I was really scared about because I didn’t have an older sibling who could tell me what to expect but I was surprised with how well I was fitting in and how unlikely it was for me to be going back home.

My first day at Vassar I met a really amazing guy named Evan Holdermann who was a Jew and from the Bronx. Like me, he was there on a scholarship and his family didn’t really expect him to make much of his life but he was in the process of surprising him. He and I became fast friends and we even dated for quite some time before breaking up and deciding to just be friends. We literally did everything together and even after we broke up all of our friends still thought we were together. The summer before our sophomore year he and I along with a big group of friends spent the summer in the Hamptons where some of the most interesting memories happened. A couple of days before I was supposed to go back to school my father and I got news that Daniel died in action. I remember hearing the news and going to Evan’s house. I cried so much that I vomited and my eyes were red and puffy for about two weeks straight. I was never really into drinking or drugs and I knew that completing college was a big goal of mine so after a while I forced myself to continue with school. The hard part wasn’t going back, it was my friends and family asking me if I was alright constantly and the fact that people were telling me he died a hero…it still didn’t change the fact that my brother was dead. My only hope was the fact that my brother’s widow was pregnant with a baby boy and when he was born I was pleased to see that he looked a lot like Daniel.

Aaron’s birth seemed to mend my family for quite some time which made them feel better. I thought that with Daniel dying that Adam would be around a lot more and when I saw that he wasn’t it made me feel kind strange. I was so angry, sad, and scared for him but in my head I always felt it was a matter of time before things get back to normal. I continued on with Vassar, my GPA never fell below a 3.4 and I got an internship with the art director at W magazine the summer before my junior year they said that once I graduate college I should look into working with them and almost considered it until Daddy died three days after my 21st birthday. He had been sick for quite some time and he finally passed away from renal failure. I honestly didn’t know how to feel when my father died. I had spent much of my childhood being frightened of him and in my adulthood he was the quiet type who just took everything in. I was upset but I don’t know if it was because I was older or if it was because I was surrounded by friends I just took the death much better than I took my brother’s two years before. Then after my dad just weeks before our graduation Evan was found dead in his home in the Bronx of suicide but I’m not sure if I’m just in denial or if it’s because I know him, I prefer to say accidental overdose. The timing was just too close and months after everything has happened I find myself dreading that time of the year.

I graduated feeling empty. The plan was to move to New York City and be roommates with Evan while we started off our careers as young artists. Every weekend I would visit my dad and cook him a homemade meal but that wasn’t possible anymore. Sabrina and Aaron moved into our cozy apartment in Hell’s Kitchen which I didn’t mind since I spent my happier moments there, I went out to visit my mother for a couple of months. The vibe was of course different. We had lost two people in our family, in my mother’s mind she felt like she was losing Adam as well. Seeing her scared and sad really put things into perspective for me on top of losing my best friend and I don’t think I could take losing anyone else in my life right now. That was when I thought to check on Adam in Los Angeles. I don’t really know what to expect here but I honestly don’t have anything to lose by coming to LA and trying to start fresh. A couple of acquaintances I met while in Vassar has a shabby little beach home in Venice. It’s not much but I love the vibe of the neighborhood and I’m taking time to get acquainted with LA before letting my brother know that I’m here. Right now I’m just doing a bit of freelance photography work just to make money but I’m looking into art galleries and things like that for work. Right now I think I feel more at ease than I ever did even though my living situation isn’t where I want it to be.

ALIAS: Bria
AGE: 19
PLAY-BY: Taylorrrrr
CITY: LA
LISTENING TO: Sun Goes Down - Icona Pop

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