I try not to be negative and pessimistic, because that’s a big issue for me even if no one realizes it. The way I handle my “dark side” is by focusing on my dreams, just like any other human being. By doing this, I continue to live my life maybe a little simply, but it’s what keeps me moving forward and keeps me reaching for the future. I can admit that my dreams are unoriginal, but just like Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. said, “Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.” My dreams are simple and unoriginal, but they’re still mine and I still hope to make them come true.

So far, it’s difficult enough without my negativity to make them a reality; it’s hard to open up a world-renowned styling salon without any money.

Friends are a true gift from God, though, and I firmly believed so as I rode the elevator car up to the fourth floor of a luxurious building in the busier side of town. Dressed in my finest slacks, a no-nonsense blouse that was still appropriately feminine, and my hair pulled back into a chignon that had taken me three tries because the first two had seemed too sloppy to me, I prayed my interview would go smoothly because it would be a great opportunity to get closer to the future I dreamed of. One of my closest friends had managed to snag the interview for me because she worked for this company, and that added on to the little mountain of worry and pressure since I didn’t want to let her down after all the trouble she’d gone through to get me this chance.

The elevator stopped, produced a muted beep, and then the shiny metal doors opened into a hallway with multiple doorways and some open areas that appeared to be waiting rooms.

“So this is where idols work, huh?” I mumbled to myself, struck with awe now that the reality was staring me right in the face.

If all went well, I’d be working with BTS, the Bulletproof Boy Scouts.