The Price of Love

2-The Dream Board

When Anna was young, she didn't know that she wanted to do in life. She was good at everything, so she could never pick just one thing to focus on. The child felt that she had every option in the world, and most times, she did. She got all A's, was the star of every show, and played every sport available. She was every parents dream. But still, she and her mother didn't get along. The two never saw eye to eye on anything. They were night and day to the other, and it didn't help Anna's case when Chloe and her mother had an amazing relationship. That was one thing she had always been jealous of. The fact that Chloe and her mother got along.

   Chloe had a life that you would see in a coming of age movie. She had decent grades, and went to college in her hometown. She married her high school sweetheart right after college, and they now had a baby girl named Millie. Her husband, Matt, was a handsome man, who worked as an engineer. She was the publisher of the local newspaper, and loved it. But Anna always said that Chloe could have been a model.

   Anna and her father had a fairly good relationship. They had inside jokes, and were always supportive of each other. He was always front row at her spelling Bees and her ball games. She always suspected Chloe of being somewhat jealous of their relationship, which was why she tried not to be mad at her for her and her mother's. Her mother had been disappointed in her final career choice, driving Anna away from her family.

But still, Anna had her life together. She was considered an overachiever. She had achieved her goals. She was accomplished in both her personal and her business life. Yet, something seemed wrong. She wasn't sure if she was in the right place. She had grown up in Ohio, and a part of her always wondered why she hadn't left the town yet. To peruse bigger opportunities of course.

After much inner debate, she stared at the pixelated, boxy computer screen. Was she really going to do this? She grabbed the mouse in her hand and moved it, clicking the word send. She heard a swoosh sound from the computer speakers, and she knew that she had applied.

"Whatcha doin?" Tony asked from the other side of the room.

"Nothing. Just a little work," Anna lied. That was not, in fact, what she was doing. When she had clicked the send button, she had boldly sent an application for a very distinguished, large, successful business in New York City. She knew it was a long shot. Who wanted to hire someone in their twenties from Ohio, when they could hire someone more experienced who lives in their state. But still, something inside of her told her to do it.

Anna looked at the dream board she had taped to her closet door. On it, she had pictures of five things. A picture of money, a skyscraper, a ring, a camera, and one of her report cards. These were the things that represented success to the girl. The image of money represented her career life goal. To climb up the corporate ladder. The image of the skyscraper represented her desire to work somewhere where her talents would be valued and where she would be respected. The ring represented a domestic life. She knew that it was dumb to wish for that, as she was already living with the man she assumed she would marry. But still, plans change, and she knew that it was a dream worth desiring. The camera represented her desire to travel. She hoped that, even with her job that would tie her down, she could  still travel the world. And the old report card was there to show her that she worked hard. That she deserved what the other pictures on the board showed. It was to prove to herself that no matter what other people said, she knew she could do it. She shut the closet door and nodded to herself. She had created that dream board the year she graduated college, and it helped her feel motivated when things got tough.

   Anna turned around grabbed a piece of paper out of her bag. She read the paper that had the stalks from the day on it. Feeling content with the numbers and information, she put it away. Feeling accomplished, Anna walked into the bathroom, and turned the bath faucet on.