Maura Dominelli

My goals in life are mostly for the long-term. I'm a big planning person so I have lots of goals for my career and stuff but my main long-term goals are just to be happy, and to make enough to support myself and whatever lifestyle I choose to live. I want my future to be very productive personally, I would like to be a teacher but I'm also planning to get a license in esthetician and do some medical masseuse stuff.

I like to stay busy. It’s basically my long-term picture because I just want to work hard and stay on track. My greatest accomplishment is not a specific thing, it’s more my personality and how hard of a worker I am. That's the stuff that gets to the accomplishments, so that's what I'm more proud of than the physical accomplishment.

My mentality is to try to keep being positive, laughing at myself because nothing really matters as much as those little details. What makes me happiest are the mindless things I do in my life that give me joy and keep me going. Seeing my friends, accomplishing my goals, going out and being social, whatever I find fulfilling, I strive to do that. I have very close friends that give me joy, and ones I plan to keep for the rest of my life, so I definitely value them. The things that make you anxious when you look back and wish you could change it, that stuff doesn't matter. Obviously no one can be positive all the time, but I try not to take myself too seriously, and understand that happiness comes in waves. To feel the good parts of life you also have to feel the bad, just don’t let that consume you.

Interview by Connor Davidson, spring 2022