The next morning I got up early and made sure I was ready for my mother’s visit. It was almost like I was getting up for an early class. But it being Saturday, the communal showers were empty when I went in, there were only a handful of students in the cafeteria, and I didn’t see anybody else in the lobby. I might have normally been cautious about disturbing Jisoo by getting up so early, but she had texted me the night before to let me know she was staying out late with Jinyoung. It appeared things were coming together for the two of them.

In order to quell my nervousness, I straightened up my dorm room and went a little overboard with my meticulousness. I really couldn’t help it. As I cleaned, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror attached to the closet and it gave me pause. Something about me looked different but I couldn’t quite place it. Standing there in front of the mirror I considered myself. Lisa was right. I was cute. I really liked my nose. I’d always liked my nose when I was younger. I’d look in the mirror in my bathroom and stare down at my nose, thinking “that’s a cute nose.” I hadn’t done that in a really long time.

Fixing up my hair, I smiled at myself. I turned to one side and posed. Then to the other, looking at my in the mirror. I had a nice than a lot of girls I knew, not that big and not too small either. I liked that part of me too. I liked my . As I continued looking over my features in the mirror, I came to the conclusion that hey, I was all right.

I took a deep breath and looked myself in the eyes. It just all of a sudden came to me and I wasn’t embarrassed. I spoke up to myself, just as I had done before my audition, just as Jisoo had shown me.

“You’re ing incredible,” I began. “You’re so ing awesome,” I said, feeling a tear come to my eye. “You’re smart and you’re pretty and people like you. You know your lines, you know exactly what you need to say, and you’re going to say it with truth and passion and heart,” I said, feeling my pulse quicken as I spoke. “Nobody can take it away from you, nobody can tell you how to live your life or what’s right for you. You’re a good person, you’re loved, you’re supported, and there’s nothing to fear any longer. You are special.”

I stepped away from the mirror, keeping my eyes on myself, when I suddenly heard a fast knock at my door. I jumped up and made a sound from the surprise.

With steadied breaths, I sauntered to the door and pulled it open. There stood Lisa grinning at me. She was still dressed in her lounging morning wear. An oversized hoodie, sweatpants, her hair lazily tied up in a bun. She looked so sweet to me, so pretty, so perfect. I melted as I saw her.

“Are you ready?” she asked, stepping inside my room. I closed the door behind her.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. “This is the time.”

“You’re going to do great,” she said adoringly, moving closer to me.

Lisa slipped a hand up to my