Neighborhood

Spotlight Series:

Maya Singer

Hello Neighbor!

I have many fond memories growing up (pre-kindergarten) and lying on the carpet in front of the TV in my childhood home, my unicorn ("Uni") in one hand and an apple juice in the other, watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood as my mom was in the kitchen either cooking or tidying up the house and my sister was at school. I LOVED everything about that show. Being that I was a very hyperactive kid there was always a certain calm that came over me while watching it. I loved how Mr. Rogers would get frequent visits from the postman and other folks in this neighborhood. At a young age this small detail instilled in me the belief that being part of a strong community is so important.

Flash forward to today. We are now lucky enough to have our office in sunny Los Angeles, which is such a treat!. There's so much talent bubbling in our own close-knit neighborhood, and in the spirit of Mr. Rogers' spotlighting everyday standouts I thought it would be fun to introduce you to some of our friends in OUR Los Angeles neighborhood and give you a peek inside their creative worlds. We hope you are as inspired by these incredible women as we are! - Laura

Get to know Maya:

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself... Where did you grow up and how did you eventually land in LA and now Australia?

Hello! I'm Maya. I was born in Boulder Colorado and spent my first 18 years there before taking a one way ticket to LA. I went to San Diego to stay with my best friend when she was in college (slept on the floor in her dorm room, high commitment to being independent) and quickly realized it wasn't the place for me. I don't like frats or their company.

Eventually I took the train up to LA and never left... until Covid hit and the man I fell in love with was from Australia! They call it the lucky country. We relocated in 2020 and had our daughter there.

2. Being a new mom is so challenging. How has the adjustment been for you? Was it really challenging having a baby during quarantine in a new country?

Having a baby is the hardest thing I've ever done. Sometimes I would sit and wonder if it was just this hard for me? Was I the only one struggling so much? The adjustment is huge.. the loss of self is overwhelming. The lack of relationships is sad because it becomes all you do and think about. Add on top of that a pandemic and a new place. I look back at that time and think, man, we really did move mountains to get to this "safe place" or so we thought. We ended up in a lockdown for many months while the rest of the world opened up. I guess what gets you through all these things is finding someone out there going through it too. I made some beautiful new friendships with mothers over seas dealing with the same thing!

3. Have you learned any helpful parenting hacks that you can share with us?

A helpful parenting tip that I love, which I know might not work for everyone, is to try and not freak out when the schedule gets off. Babies are humans. Toddlers are too. They have their own lives and if someone tried to force me to do things on a schedule I would hate it. We let go and stay in a gentle cycle of the same things around the same time each day, but life's way too unpredictable. You just have to roll with it day to day.

4. Sweet tooth, salty tooth, of both?

SAWEEET over everything.

5. If you could take your family on a one month trip anywhere in the world right now where would you go?

I'd love to join everyone who's currently in Italy and posting about it on Instagram. That would be nice. Oh wait no... Japan. I've always wanted to go... wait wait ok maybe Oaxaca! Mexico will always have my heart. Hmmm hang on, let me go convince my fiancé we should quit work and go travel.

Follow Maya @mayasinger