Amazing Kids: Priya Verma

[The Little Seed]

This weekend I felt overwhelmed with what I thought was a hectic day. Writing, cleaning, laundry, family, the dog, lists, lists, lists, tick, tock, tick!! And then I came across this extraordinary young woman while I was, interestingly enough, researching a topic for this article. I now know Wonder Girl, seriously. She is a 17 year old teenager from India who is an accomplished actress, writer, space scientist (you read that right), and conservationist. Her name is Priya Verma. I'm not even sure where to start. Her lists of achievements reads like a fake resume because it's almost too unbelievable to be true - BUT it is.

Inspired to help create a system that would minimize wasting our earth's resources, Priya presented a cost-effective, eco-friendly and universally practical way to minimize wasting underground water reserves, and to harvest rainwater. "If over pumping and wastage of water is not stopped immediately the underground water resources will be exhausted which will have a bad impact on our ecology as there will be no forests, plants and animal species and the world will become a desert soon, " she has been quoted as saying. Her techniques have been accepted by the government of India, UNEP, and various organizations worldwide. Not bound to the limitations of Earth, Priya also proposed an idea for the origin of the Universe, a theory recognized not only by NASA, but the Nobel Prize Society of Scholars, as well. Continuing to discover untapped possibilities for the future, she also designed and developed ARYA, a space colony for humans to live and function in outer space. Proud to represent for her country, she attended the NASA SPACE SETTLEMENT DESIGN CONTEST -2009 on behalf of her native India.

Priya uses the right side of her brain just as well as the left side. Her creative spirit is also evolving and using various tools for self-expression. She has had over 600 of her articles, poems, and stories published online and throughout various Indian newspapers and publications. She is also an avid supporter of Women Empowerment and she is a member of the Girl's 20 Summit of G20 Nations. After some detective work, I found a link to a video project she created (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNpnxfduEtk)

- check it out and ask yourself the ever looming, yet critical question: what are you doing?

Last, but not least, Priya is quite the thespian in her "down-time". A fixture in Indian film and television, she has appeared in numerous movies, t.v. shows, stage pieces, and on music albums.

To say she's impressive might not even hold enough weight to describe the influence and more importantly, the actions Priya has accomplished in such a short amount of time. She's been quoted as saying, "Being a student, shortage of time is my biggest hurdle. I have to strike a balance between my studies and extra-curricular activities. As a result, I have had to leave many good assignments/offers. Hard work is always the key to my success. I am lucky that I get support from my family for whatever I do."

I like this kid. I like this kid a lot. Next time I feel overwhelmed with that looming trip to the gas station or Trader Joe's, I'll think of Priya and remember, there's time for absolutely everything.

Writer/Contributer: Giselle Rodriguez