I CAN

Illusions are just tricks. There shouldn't be a reason I think of them as real.

Change happens, but it's okay. I adapt, I proceed, I survive
Any is possible. Sure, that sounds cheesy, but "even the word impossible says 'I'm possible'.
Nothing and nobody tells me who I am, that's for me to figure out.

Peer Review

What’s your favorite element of this piece? (The voice or description? Sense of drama, setting, characters? Theme?)

The warm feel of bravery, definitely. This element is especially glowing in the context of 2020 where the news and social media are filled with depressing news. I feel like the main character is motivated to make a difference and know they can.

If the writer were to expand this piece, what else would you want to know? Where might more detail or depth be helpful?

The back story, definitely. It seems like they are, in this passage, facing something difficult. Yet, they can encourage themselves and they soldier on despite the difficulties. It makes me think, too, of Ann Landers' "Meaning of Maturity" published in the Chicago Tribune in 1999 (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-17-9907170129-story.html). "Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration without complaint or collapse...the ability to sweat out a project in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks." It sounds like the surface of a touching story in the making.

Reviewer Comments

Hello there! I really liked this little story and the lovely hidden message. Thank you for sharing your writing here on Write the World, and here's looking forward to more from you in the future.

Additionally, I'm not sure if you'll be interested, resilience and flourishing are big areas of a discipline known as positive psychology (or, the Science of Happiness). I could direct you to some simpler readings to start off since it can be quite hard to grapple at first. As a psychology major in college, this course was life-transforming, and, I hope you will find it this way, too.

Thank you once again for sharing this little up-lifting piece on WtW :) Here's hoping you have a bountiful end of year.