Perspectives

Inspired by my kaleidocycle

7.8 billion human beings, infinite amount of animals and insects, variety of plants and still counting. This world is bigger than what we can comprehend, and its beauty is unimaginable. Even though we know this, even if scientists have studied our planet, galaxy and more, even if we are taught these things at school, mentally is overwhelming, even exhausting. That is why when it comes to the difficulties we experience on a daily basis, for us it seems like the end of the world, at least ours.

This is the case of Sophia, a girl who since a very young age experienced physical and mental abuse from her parents. A family composed of only them 3, and a very wealthy one. Her dad was an accountant and her mom ran the most successful hotel in the city. They had very high expectations from her, they gave her the best education in the most expensive schools of Los Angeles but she never felt good enough. She had multiple obligations, which made her participate in every contest, every game, every activity on and off school. If she refused to do something, there is when things got tough, she would not be allowed to eat 2 of her 3 meals a day. Because on top of all the abuse, her mom was obsessed with her weight and physical appearance.

She would starve often and this led her to many health conditions. As well she had a bodyguard with her at all times so she completed her tasks. Aside from the abuse it might seem like her parents were interested in her, but the reality is she was just like another investment, another building, another car, another piece of jewelry that they wanted to keep okay.

Sophia knew she didn't deserve this, she wanted to avoid them at all costs, but she was a minor and couldn't do so. Her parents had a lot of money and no one will believe her, if anything they would use their money to avoid issues, she thought. Her only way out was getting through high school, with excellent grades and college offers, so she did.

As soon as she graduated, she left home and started to build a life for herself. She worked and did very hard. A good thing about all her efforts was that she kept those practices and had an excellent work ethic. She got professional help for her traumas, and that wasn't easy but she pulled through. Her therapist taught her the most valuable lesson, we are the ones who build or trash our lives, everyone goes through difficult times, and it might seem like the end of the world from our perspective but it’s not. We must pull through, despite all the crap because we are in charge of shaping our lives as we please.

At the end, she was able to turn her very quadratic, and b&w life into something beautiful, full of colors. She was given a white canvas and painted as she pleased. She gave her world, her sky, her pretty flowers the color they needed, and changed her perspective about life.

María Camila Montes, Step 11.