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Olivia
Olivia looked deeply into the mirror. She stared at the reflection really hard, pointing out a blemish here, and a “flaw” there. Each night began and ended with soft whimpers. She went to school in the morning with a frown, complaining about her hatred towards it. Olivia didn’t like her family. She was annoyed by their non-stop queries about her life.
Olivia complained and complained and complained, until there was nothing else to complain about. She was tired of complaining and decided to make a change. She wanted to feel happy again. She didn't want that plastered happy face that she would make when she would see her uncle. No. Olivia wanted that feeling of true happiness, like how she felt when 4 year old Olivia first touched the chilling cold snow in her backyard, or when 10 year old Olivia found out that she was going to have a father again, since her mother was being remarried.
17 year old Olivia searched for happiness. She looked through the dusty, old family photo albums… not there. She looked in her notebooks… not there. She even peeped into her closet door, but Olivia could not find happiness.
Disappointed, she sat on her bed, with her face in her hands. Happiness had to be somewhere, right? But what if she never finds it? What if she spends her whole life searching for it?
Then, Olivia had her Eureka moment.
Olivia couldn’t find happiness, so she made it herself.
She started off small, taking baby steps of course. Olivia started to buy clothes that made her feel comfortable in her own skin. She didn't feel the need to look pretty, she just wanted to feel pretty. She also started to make use of her notebooks by writing down all of her emotions during those crazy high school moments, because she knew that high school wasn’t going to last forever. Olivia’s contagious joy soon spread to her family. So, she whipped out her camera and took a new family photo for this Christmas.
Olivia didn’t need to wait for something or someone to change her life. She knew exactly what she wanted from her life and made sure that she got it. Olivia had her Eureka moment, when will you have yours?
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We all have an Olivia inside of us. We just need to decide which one you want to keep.