Naima

I live in a hostel in Canonbury.  When I was very young I lived in South London - I have happy memories because it's when I started exploring things, and started drawing. 

My earliest memory is probably watching children’s TV on a Saturday morning. I liked Sesame Street.

A genius is someone who thinks creatively, or has inspiring ideas, explores the world around them, investigates things and is enlightened by things they discover.

The best advice I got from my parents is probably to keep trying to do things I enjoy, see what happens with that, and not get disheartened if things don’t work out the way I want.

A cup of coffee when I wake up makes me happy.  Also being able to explore different environments - parts of London, England, hopefully, one day, different parts of the world.  And friendships that work out.

My favourite place to explore is London - there are lots of small streets I like exploring around here. 

Meeting people for the first time makes me nervous, wondering if I'll hit it off with them.

Sometimes I think if I just cleared the slate and started over again and did things differently it might be good - but then without the same experiences I wouldn’t be the same person. 

The one thing I would do differently is to be more organised – I’d have more determination and commitment to doing things I care about, and I’d look after things I’d written.

The historical figure that I most identify with is Van Gogh.  I love his paintings.  I'd love to be able to create things that bring out a reaction in people.  I think parts of his life were tragic, but he still created something that is of value.

The most desperate thing I’ve done for love is to beg someone not to leave me.  It wasn't even about the relationship - it was not wanting to be left alone because I felt like I didn’t know how to look after my own situation. 

Money or respect? Respect. I think I’ve got enough money but my life isn’t the way I want it to be and I think that's why I don’t respect myself.  I sometimes feel like there just isn't enough general respect going around people.  

The people most special to me are my mum and my dad, and maybe spiritual figures - in the sense that they gave me a bigger picture that I really connected with. 

I can be quite awkward sometimes, but I try to make the best of things.  I can be quite lonely but I try to meet people. 

You should treat strangers with as much respect as you treat yourself.

Every event in life has a meaning, or an end result, and sometimes I can feel that something is coming - I can guess what's going to happen next.

My biggest birthday party was my 18th - it was about being able to go out and feel like I was officially an adult. 

The first thing I notice about someone is whether or not they’re smiling.

Sometimes I think I'm writing rubbish but occasionally it explodes really nicely.  My poetry is about anything - emotions, memories.  I like playing with words, I like to talk about my moods so I've got somewhere to express how I'm feeling.

My biggest fear is that I'll end up back up at square one with my housing situation, and my life will be back in a state of chaos and I'll lose contact with people like my family and I'll have to manage without that stability.

My greatest pleasure is a really nice meal and a nice evening.  A nice meal for me is a bit of cheese, some vegetables, like aubergine and maybe a glass of wine.  Probably something Mediterranean - Italian or something from Spain.