By Olivia Abdalla
Holland Hall High School
Across the Atlantic Ocean, 6,129 miles away from Oklahoma in Taganrog, Russia lives a young girl named Milana Khaikhan. Like many teens across the globe, she is a high school graduate and plans on beginning her college journey this fall.
During high school Milana’s favorite subject was math and graduating didn’t stop that passion. Her previous school Liceum IV, specialized in math. Despite her love for math Milan does not plan to go straight to a university and pick up math, but instead pick up direction design. Milana, one of two Russian students participating this year virtually in the Oklahoma Institute of Diversity in Journalism, has also found interesting ways to incorporate her math interests with her personal hobbies.
In Milana’s free time she paints cultural pieces bursting with colorful oils. to make elaborately crafted pieces. Each piece requires careful precision and calculation for the end result to be cohesive. Milana was even able to have her art showcased in an exhibit called “The Beauty Inside,” at her previous school in Russia. She was thrilled to have her work shown publicly and hopes to continue her crafts in the future.
Additionally, Milana indulges in the Bang Tan Sonyeondan band also known as the “Bangtan Boys” or BTS franchise, especially the music. She doesn’t have a favorite song from the popular boy band but her sister does and it’s “Dope,”which was released in 2015 on the album “The Most Beautiful Moment of Life Part 1.” The album ended up being a success selling 200,000 copies in just a year 2015 alone. Although Milana loves the Korean pop band BTS, she doesn’t have a favorite band member but rather likes each member equally.
As someone who started listening to their music when she was 14, Milana was beyond excited when the BTS meal came out at McDonald’s. However, McDonald’s in Russia did not carry the meal. Milana couldn’t understand why it wasn’t included in Russia’s McDonald’s and was bummed out that the 10-piece chicken nugget meal, medium fries, and Coke with the Korean sweet chili sauces, and cajun flavor wasn’t available for her to try.
In her next journey in life Milana plans to continue her love for oil painting, expanding her knowledge for the craft to grow as an artist. In Milana’s opinion, her art is at the level in which it can and should be sold publicly.
“In the future, I think it’ll be like my hobby, and I’ve been told that these things are very popular in America. I have some people I used to sell my work to.”
