The Journey

A Whole New Chapter

Once Upon a Time...

...in Bahía de Mariposa, Magdalena, Colombia, lived a beautiful 18-year-old girl named Mirabel Espinosa. She lived with her parents, Imelda and Joaquín. Imelda was a pharmacist at the local hospital while Joaquín was a stay-at-home father.

Mirabel was a very kind girl, and when she wasn't dealing with new adult responsibilities, she would do something she enjoyed: read books, draw pictures, paint pictures, play violin, and ride horses. Mirabel wanted to be a graphic designer when she finished college—she liked the idea of designing sheets of paper, greeting cards, book covers...too many to list. But Mirabel wasn't happy because she didn't feel like she belonged here. She wasn't very popular in high school because she was completely different from her classmates. Many of the girls were madly in love with the popular boys, but Mirabel wasn't charmed by the boys' well-built physiques. She was entirely turned off by their arrogance, and the girls thought she was crazy. Mirabel's classmates thought she was a teachers' pet because she was passionate about what she did, from art to literature. In fact, they didn't see the point in reading or drawing—they just thought those subjects/hobbies were pointless. Therefore, it's really no surprise that many of them failed their literature and drawing classes, and they were very jealous of how Mirabel could be so passionate about what she does. Mirabel had dreams of finding someone to love and who would accept her for who she was, but she was sure it was just a fantasy.

It was late August 2013, and today, Mirabel was starting college. She was sure that her life would change today. She had all her stuff together, and she went downstairs to join her parents for breakfast. "Buen día, Mami, Papi," she smiled.

"Buen día, Mirabel," Imelda smiled. "Are you excited to start college?"

"Sí, Mami," Mirabel beamed. "I'm really hoping this will change my life in so many ways."

"We know high school has been less than pleasing for you, mi vida, so it's good to know you're moving on," Joaquín smiled.

"The best part is that those muchachos populares are sure to have peaked in high school," Mirabel sniffed. "They cried on the last day of high school because they knew this would be the end of their popular days. The only thing they achieved was fail art and literature so badly that they got grades lower than an F. I wonder it possible to get a Z-."

"I wonder how they were able to even graduate from high school despite their deplorable grades, besides cheating," Imelda said.

"I remember Nayeli Ricos doing that back in freshman year, and she was suspended for a week," Mirabel recalled. "She couldn't take part in the cheerleading competition."

"No good comes from an inflated ego," Joaquín said. "Okay, you'd better eat. You can't have a good first day at college on an empty tummy."

"Okay, Papi," Mirabel said.