From Us in Charcoal: Mansi
Meet Manasvita (Mansi) Maddi (she/her) — a creative director within Charcoal. Mansi is currently a junior majoring in economics and math.
Mansi was born in Hyderabad, India where they are always celebrating and having festivals. She had a really fun childhood, growing up with a big extended family with a full and lively household.
Mansi took a gap year after graduating high school, where she took the time to take care of herself and figure out what she wanted to be. She spent time with her family, had meaningful conversations with her mom, and reconnected with herself.
She wasn’t the most confident person, spending time with herself helped lighten the way she felt about herself to prepare for college. She was always taking care of someone back home, so coming to BU and not knowing anyone was a huge adjustment.
“I didn’t have family here. I didn’t know anyone here.” Mansi was always video calling her friends and family because she was unsure how to initiate the first step in creating bonds with others.
“the most important thing is to find a home within yourself.”
Coming to BU started off as a negative experience for her, but she realized that “the most important thing is to find a home within yourself.” When she stayed in Boston last summer for classes, she figured out what she wanted to do to make herself happy and make the most of her new home.
Mansi first heard about Charcoal when she came to campus during orientation. She saw the first three issues of Charcoal (Mirrors, Sweet, and Sankofa) on a table at the GSU and fell in love.
“My heart was drawn. When you see beautiful art like that, it strikes a nerve and the best part was that I didn't even expect it to do that.”
To Mansi, being in Charcoal is like being at home. “It was my first few days on campus, suddenly looking at that magazine it just felt like home. It was very comforting and I really wanted to be a part of that space.”
Mansi started off as a photographer in Charcoal her freshman year. She took a gap year to pursue photography seriously and would go around talking and taking pictures of people.
Her favorite part about photography is the ability to make someone feel confident about themselves. “You get to meet beautiful people and when you take pictures of someone, you see a different personality. You see a different side of someone.”
Besides photography, Mansi loves to read books and poetry. She also loves to paint, do crafts, and explore new places. She likes to find new places to try different foods and has recently gotten into cooking.
“This is something that we will all take this journey together [as Charcoal],”
After being a photographer her freshman year, Mansi became a creative director in her sophomore and junior year. This shift caused her to think deeper within concept photography, where each picture means something and dives deeper into emotions and stories.
After hearing the concept for Charcoal’s newest issue Ego Death, Mansi reached out to her mom about the concept of moksh (enlightenment in Hindu religion). She had long conversations with her mom about what it means to have an ego, to put that aside, and what it means spiritually and personally.
“This is something that we will all take this journey together [as Charcoal],” she said about the overwhelming feeling of ego death.
Make sure to come back and read more From Us In Charcoal.