Mira Sridharan is not just any high school kid. She’s Marin County’s first youth poet laureate. By comparison, my biggest accomplishment by her age was working in a record store.
What do you do?
I’m a student at the Branson School. As youth poet laureate, I want to make poetry accessible to young people in Marin, and something that doesn’t feel exclusive or like it’s reserved for certain people. I’m also the co-editor in chief of an online literary journal called Tiger Leaping Review (tigerleapingreviews.com).
Where can we find you when you’re not at work?
I’m either out walking with my dog or sitting at home knitting and crocheting.
Where do you live?
I live in Kentfield with my mom, dad, three siblings and my dog.
How long have you lived in Marin?
14 years.
If you had to convince someone how awesome Marin is, where would you take them?
I would take them on a drive out to West Marin during sunset. After that, we would go to Sorella in Fairfax for dinner, and then Mag’s Local Yogurt in Larkspur for dessert.
What’s one thing Marin is missing?
Good public transportation.
What’s one bit of advice you’d share with your fellow Marinites?
Try to go to as many different places in Marin as you can, especially the underrated ones. I like the towns out in West Marin, like Point Reyes Station or Inverness because they have a good vibe and they’re so close to the ocean. I also like Lake Lagunitas in Fairfax because it’s a great hiking trail for everyone, including families and pets.
If you could ask anyone to join you at dinner, who would you invite?
Amanda Gorman, Kobe Bryant and Lin Manuel Miranda
What’s some advice you wish you knew 20 years ago?
When I get to be 20 years old, I’ll get back to you.
What’s something that 20 years from now will seem cringeworthy?
I couldn’t come up with a good answer… at least not yet.
Big question. What’s one thing you’d do to change the world?
I would change the last two years of high school to be about learning life skills and pursuing passions. I’d also take the pressure off of the college application process so that students could take time to figure out what they want to do to help the world.
Keep up with Sridharan at @mira_sridharan on Instagram.
Nish Nadaraja was on the founding team at Yelp, serves on the San Anselmo Arts Commission and has a rather cool daughter who just started junior year at Tam High.
