Maya Aziz is the only child in an Indian Muslim family in Batavia, Illinois. She is five feet and three inches tall. She has long dark hair and likes to dress in skinny jeans and fitted sweaters. She loves to shoot film and regularly carries a camcorder. She chafes at her parents’ expectations for her to study at the University of Chicago and marry an Indian man with high earning potential. She wants to choose her own life, which is to study at New York University and become a filmmaker.

Maya is motivated by being true to her dreams and goals. In order to do this, she avoids telling her parents about her acceptance to NYU and does not tell them who all of her friends are. She also tells outright lies, though this does not sit well with her. Maya does not want to live a lie. She breaks off a romantic relationship with Kareem because she does not want to lie to herself or him. She also chooses New York over her parents and their wishes. This makes family tensions even worse, but Maya would rather tell the truth and be authentic to herself than be miserable.